New Weru Tea Factory directors accuse KTDA staff of sabotage
Farmers in Tharaka-Nithi County electing new Weru Tea Factory directors at Kajiunduthi grounds on April 21, 2021.
The newly elected board of directors at Weru Tea Factory in Tharaka Nithi County alleged sabotage by the factory unit manager who is an employee of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
Speaking to the Nation on Sunday, the board chairman, Mr Gitari Mwoga said since April 22, 2021 when they reported at the facility a day after their election, they have been holding meetings in the board room without accessing any other office or document.
He claimed that the old directors also kept off the factory weeks to the elections.
“The factory unit manager told us that we are strangers at the facility because there is a board that is legally in office,” said Mr Mwoga.
He said they are still waiting for the CR 12 certificates from the Registrar of Companies that will make them the lawful officials to run the tea processing company.
A CR 12 is an official confirmation by the Registrar of Companies in Kenya as to whom the directors and shareholders of a company are.
Crack the whip
Mr Mwoga, however, said that junior workers at the factory received them warmly. He however, warned that once confirmed by the Registrar of Companies, they will not hesitate to crack the whip on defiant employees.
He said the board had also applied for the change of company secretary to enable it access the documents.
“Through minutes, we recommended the recruitment of a temporary company secretary for an immediate takeover of the company,” he said.
Mr Mwoga, however, assured farmers that nothing will stop them from taking over the running of the factory and implementing the new reforms by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The election of new directors took place amid resistance by KTDA that termed it illegal.
