The coveted chairmanship of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holdings, which serves 680,000 small tea growers, is proving hotter than a cup of tea.
Even though intense lobbying takes place before one secures the position, with directors from 54 registered factories casting their vote to pick their preferred candidate, the three-year tenure in office is no longer guaranteed.
The position of the KTDA chairman is proving to be a hot seat with a highly revolving door, going by the current and recent turn of events in the agency's boardroom.
It follows a myriad of competing interests in the industry with the government allegedly keen on arm-twisting the board and the political class pushing to have their way so as to safeguard or secure business interests.
The players in the industry, including brokers at the Mombasa Auction - a regional trading hub, and East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) are understood to be keenly following the unfolding scenario in the industry.
KTDA is the single largest player in the industry followed by multinational companies spread across the tea growing belts in the country.
On January 23, 2025, a boardroom coup saw the board chairman Mr Enos Njeru elbowed out and replaced by Mr Chege Kirundi, an advocate of the High Court, the board member for Zone 3 in Murang’a County and the chairman of Kiru Tea factory.
In the changes, Mr Erick Chepkwony, the chairman of Zone 9 in the West of Rift, was retained his vice chairman position.
Mr Njeru was removed in a similar manner; he ascended to the position on July 17, 2023 pulling the rug under the feet of chairman David Ichohi with the government’s hand looming large.
Mr Ichohi was hounded out of office in a dramatic move, coming 10 days after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua held a consultative meeting for the tea sector players in the country in July, 2023 in Kericho County.
It was claimed that Mr Ichohi was against government interference in the running of KTDA which is a private company registered under the Companies Act 2015, in what did not sit well with the former Deputy President.
There were claims at the time that the government wanted to raid the dollar account in the agency when its (state) reserves at the time were low, which Mr Ichohi fended off, accelerating his removal.
KTDA is one of the agencies that are leading holders of dollar accounts in the industry as that is the trading medium in the auction. It paid Sh89.29 billion to farmers in the last financial year for green leaf supplies.
The chairperson position at KTDA board is a powerful one in the industry, with major decisions made by the government and stakeholders done with concurrence of the office holder.
It also attracts business opportunities with the agency moving huge stock in the local and foreign market. Some of the current directors also run brokerage and transport firms on the side that do business with the agency.
Mr Njeru, the Zone 6 chairman, has now been pushed out hardly four months after he assumed the position in a controversial election on August 23, 2024 in Mombasa, that saw his opponent Gabriel Kagombe, the Gatundu South Member of Parliament, boycott the election with four other directors.
It was the culmination of the grassroots elections that kicked off on July 29, 2024, presided over by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the first time in the history of the agency.
“Mr Njeru was seen to have failed to fight for the farmers and was easily arm twisted by the power- that-be. We felt that he had taken a backseat when the agency was under an onslaught from the government and politicians,” a director told Nation Africa on Friday.
In the boardroom meeting on Thursday that led to the change of guard, Mr Njeru was present, and could not fight back due to the overwhelming support Mr Kirundi got in what amounted to a coup.
Mr Njeru said he would get back to us to respond to the questions around his removal and what it means for the industry, but had not by the time of publishing this article.
Mr Kirundi was one of those who boycotted the election along with Mr John Wasusana, Mr James Omweno, Mr Mwangi Githinji and Mr Kagombe with the Ministry of Agriculture having been accused of interference in the poll and having a preferred candidate.
Contacted for comment, Mr Kirundi said he would call back, but had not done so by the time of publishing this despite Nation Africa sending questions to him on the way forward for the agency.
Mr Kirundi, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a Certified Public Secretary, previously served as a State Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers. He was a key player in the tea reforms that saw the enactment of the Tea Act 2020.
Being one of the longest serving KTDA zonal directors, Mr Kirundi according to fellow directors, “is a firm leader who understands his mandate well and would not easily be swayed by government mandarins”.
The changes come in the backdrop of a stinging statement issued by the chairmen of factories across the country on January 16, 2024 for alleged interference in the agency’s internal affairs. The then chairman was absent.
Mr Chepkwony as the vice chairman stepped in — a pointer to the boardroom fallout, and led the directors and factory chairpersons in calling on the government to allow the agency to run its affairs to the benefit of the farmers.
“Factories have experienced low absorption of teas in the market due to wrangles and political interference. This has an adverse effect on the earning of farmers,” Mr Chepkwony said last Thursday, while flanked by factory chairpersons from across the country.
The changes come when Principal Secretary for Agriculture Paul Ronoh has been fingered for making declarations affecting the management of the factories and purporting to suspend directors of Michimikuru Factory leading to an Annual General Meeting (AGM) that was disrupted on December 6, 2024.
Dr Ronoh has also come under attack for convening meetings for zonal directors without consulting KTDA board in what is not only costly to individual factories, but also to the farmers as there are conflicting directives.
“Our position as an agency is that when the directors are called for meetings, there is an attendant cost that is borne by the respective factories they represent. The cost is passed on to the farmer, yet some of the issues discussed have no bearing or are not enforceable” Mr Chepkwony said.
The meetings called by the Ministry of Agriculture for zonal directors, according to KTDA are said to have been “too many, too frequent, uneconomical, haphazard and without consultation with the KTDA board.”
“What we expect from the government is for it to help KTDA open up new global markets so as to increase volumes of tea sold that would translate increased forex earning for the country and better pay for the farmers” Mr Chepkwony said.
For two years, there was a backlog of 100 million metric tons of unsold tea at the Mombasa Auction, which led the government to scrap the reserve price that was set with the enactment of the Tea Act, 2020.
The government has been accused of scrapping the reserve price without consultation in what has led to a slump in prices at the auction that would translate to poor pay for the farmers supplying their green leaf to various factories.
Mr Cheruiyot Baliach, the zonal director for Kapset tea factory said “there is need for stability in the tea industry to ensure stakeholders are speaking in one voice and moving in the same direction”
“We expect the KTDA leadership under Mr Kirundi to work with all stakeholders, including the government, to find a new export market in what would address the glut at the Mombasa Auction and better earnings for the farmers” Mr Baliach said.
Newly sworn-in Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mutahi Kagwe is expected to prioritise resolving issues in the tea sector after assuming office last week, having taken over from Dr Andrew Karanja who has been handed an ambassadorial job by President William Ruto.
It remains to be seen for how long Mr Kirundi and team will sustain the onslaught from players in the industry.
