Five tea factory employees have been arrested and charged over alleged manipulation of weighing scales used to receive green leaf from growers in Konoin in a crackdown over alleged losses.
Four of the suspects—Amos Kiplangat Kirui, Kiprotich Yegon, Peter Mutai and Judith Cherono Langat—were arraigned before Sotik Principal Magistrate Tonny Kwambai on Wednesday and denied the charges. They were each released on a Sh20,000 bond and a surety of a similar amount.
Dancun Kipngeno, a clerk at Chemalal Tea Factory in Konoin Constituency, pleaded guilty to using a weighing machine without a valid stamp from the Weights and Measures Department.
He was sentenced to one year in prison or a Sh10,000 fine. The four who denied the charges will appear in court for mention on September 3. Two Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) managers were not charged as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) continues to investigate their alleged role in the scheme.
Police arrest seven KTDA staff in Bomet over tea weighing scale scam that targeted farmers' earnings
The arrests followed an operation by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), the Weights and Measures Department and police targeting tea buying centres and factories in Konoin. Those arrested were linked to Boito and Chemalal tea factories and multinational tea companies Browns East Africa Plantations, including Karuma Estate, and George Williamsons.
The operation followed complaints from farmers that their green leaf deliveries were being under-recorded through tampered weighing machines.
Konoin Deputy County Commissioner Irene Cheptum said the operation would continue until those suspected of involvement in the alleged fraud were arrested and prosecuted. “The operation has been necessitated by the complaints from farmers over theft of their produce through tampering of weighing scales in the industry, which has led to losses over the years,” Ms Cheptum said.
Tea Board Director of Compliance and Surveillance Samwel Njane said inspections had established that some weighing machines had been tampered with.
“We have toured various tea buying centres in Konoin sub-county and found after inspection that the clerks are tampering with the weighing scales,” Mr Njane said.
Some digital machines were found to display weights that were 1.7 kilogrammes below the actual weight of green leaf delivered by farmers, according to the TBK.
“In every 10 kilogrammes, the farmers lose one to two kilogrammes of green leaves,” he said, adding that a lorry transports an average of 300 to 360 gunny bags, each weighing 10 kilogrammes, to factories per trip.
Based on those figures, the TBK said a truck could lose farmers about 300 kilogrammes of green leaf per trip. With at least three trips a day, the loss could reach 900 kilogrammes daily per truck.
At an average buying price of Sh24 per kilogramme, that would amount to Sh21,600 worth of green leaf per truck a day. Over 26 days, the figure would rise to Sh561,600 per truck.
The TBK did not say that all such losses were proceeds of theft or that individuals had received the money. It said the inspections had exposed discrepancies in weighing and that investigations were continuing. Some machines also lacked valid seals from the Weights and Measures Department or had not been calibrated for between two and seven years, officials said. Farmers welcomed the crackdown, saying they had complained about the practice for years.
“For years, we have forwarded our complaints to KTDA and TBK but no action has been taken. We are happy that at least action is being taken to save us from the losses incurred,” farmer Erick Tonui said.
Mr Tonui said digital weighing scales introduced about 10 years ago had been expected to curb manipulation, but complaints persisted.
Small-scale grower Beatrice Langat called for investigations into factory employees suspected of wrongdoing and for authorities to pursue recovery of any money found to have been obtained unlawfully.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Kipronoh Ronoh and TBK chief executive Willy Mutai last week acknowledged farmers’ complaints about alleged theft at tea buying centres during a visit to Kapkoros Tea Factory in Bomet County.
“I can assure you as small-scale tea growers that the government will crack down against those involved in the fraudulent activities and we will sustain the operation until order prevails,” Dr Ronoh said.
Mr Mutai urged factory managements to ensure weighing scales were not tampered with and asked farmers to demand transparency and accountability. The TBK said the crackdown would also focus on Bomet, Kericho, Nakuru, Nandi, Nyamira, Vihiga and Kisii counties, where similar complaints have been reported. Kenya’s tea industry is a major foreign exchange earner, but growers have raised concerns about low returns and production costs.
The government released Sh4.5 billion for modernisation of tea processing machines in KTDA-managed factories. It is also pursuing new export markets and encouraging value addition as part of efforts to improve returns to growers.
