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KTDA vice chairman Erick Chepkwony collapses, dies in Nairobi
Erick Chepkwony casting his vote on June 28, 2024 at Chepchabas tea buying centre in Konoin, Bomet county during the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) zonal elections, where he was elected a director and went on to become the agency's zone nine chairperson and vice chairman KTDA Holdings. Mr Chepkwony collapsed and died in Nairobi on Wednesday evening, May 21, 2025.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Vice Chairman, Erick Chepkwony, has collapsed and died.
Mr Chepkwony, a member of the board of directors at the Tea Board of Kenya (TB), also serves as the Regional chairman for factories falling under zone eight, covering Bomet county in the West of Rift Valley (a KTDA zone).
Until his death, Mr Chepkwony, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) holder, was also the Chief Officer for Finance at the County Government of Bomet.
He is said to have collapsed and died after vomiting while in the bathroom.
Earlier, he had been to the National Treasury, where he was processing the release of funds to the Bomet county government and was scheduled to attend a KTDA meeting.
Mr Chege Kirundi, the KTDA Holdings Chairman and Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok on Thursday confirmed the passing of Mr Chepkwony, whom they described as “ a hardworking and knowledgeable professional in the finance sector.”
“As we express condolences to the family and wish them strength at this time of need, I must say that as KTDA fraternity, we have lost a good man,” Mr Kirundi said.
Mr Kirundi said, “Chepkwony was a knowledgeable, articulate, a conciliator and a good soft soft-spoken leader and professional of great wisdom”
He added, “We have lost a man who was an anchor of Farmers First Mantra in KTDA.” Mr Kirundi said of his fallen vice chairman.
Mr Kirundi recalls his last conversation with Chepkwony, where he requested to be excused and would attend the finance committee meeting on Wednesday meeting later, only for his colleagues to learn that he had collapsed and died.
“During a KTDA board meeting last week, he was jovial and active. He did not show any sign of stress or sickness at all. It is a big blow to KTDA and Kenya’s tea sector as a whole,” Mr Kirundi told Nation in an interview.
Prof Barchok said he was saddened by the passing of CPA Chepkwony, who was a hardworking professional and a respected leader in the tea industry”
“This devastating loss feels even more profound as we remember how full of life he was just yesterday,” Prof Barchok said of Chepkwony, who has been a Chief Officer for Finance for the last two years.
Professor Barchok stated, “May the Lord grant his loved ones, colleagues and all who knew him the strength and fortitude to endure this painful moment. We stand with his family during this unimaginably difficult time and pledge our steadfast support”
The last public function he participated in was on May 2, during a Special General Meeting (SGM) at Kapkoros tea factory in Bomet County, where farmers endorsed the separation of four KTDA factories – Kapkoros, Tirkaga, Motigo and Olenguruone.
Chepkwony was elected a zonal director for Kapset tea factory in Konoin constituency, Bomet county on June 28, 2024, and subsequently picked as the KTDA zone nine chairperson.
On August 23, 2024, Chepkwony was elected the KTDA Holdings vice chairman, with then chairman Enos Njeru being re-elected in a poll held in Mombasa.
In a boardroom coup of January 23, 2025, Mr Njeru was elbowed out as the board chairman, and in his place, a seasoned advocate of the High Court and long-serving KTDA director, Chege Kirundi, also chairman of Zone three in Muranga county and chairman of Kiru tea factory, was picked to steer the agency’s affairs.
Both Mr Kirundi and Mr Chepkwony have been seeking to turn around the sector with ongoing reforms initiated by the government.
The reserve prices set by the government, which have led to a glut at the Mombasa Tea Auction for two years, are one of the issues that the board has been battling with.
