On Thursday, hundreds of employees and farmers united and chased away the board of directors, accusing them of conspiring to loot and collapse the factory to prepare for a takeover, a move reminiscent of the contentious Adani-JKIA deal.
The management, in collusion with board members who are mostly officials from Ford Kenya, namely Millicent Aboudha (deputy party leader), Elizabeth Mudikiza (deputy secretary general), Alfred Khangati (chairman of the board), and Bonface Otsiula (Bumula politician), is accused of looting the company at the expense of both farmers and workers.
The government had cleared all farmer arrears by mid-last year, but since March of this year, farmers have not paid for the cane they delivered to the factory, resulting in a debt of Ksh 295,000,000.
Trucks line up at the factory every day to collect sugar, but neither farmers nor employees have received payment. Farmers and workers are wondering where the sugar is going, given that the stores are empty and they have sold all the sugar without receiving any payment.
The board has sold scrap metal, vehicles, tractors, and even cut down trees within the factory to produce timber, which the government has since written off.
The directors have been holding several meetings each month, claiming Ksh 120,000 for every session.
Farmers accuse the directors of acting on the instructions of a certain politician to frustrate the company, intending to close it down in order to pave the way for a private investor, such as Adani.
Last year, the government advertised the company for leasing, but farmers and residents moved to court and obtained orders restraining the government from proceeding with the lease.
The company owes workers Ksh. 450 million in salary arrears.
