A dramatic standoff unfolded at Nzoia Sugar Company in Bukembe, Bungoma County, after anti-riot police lobbed teargas and blocked the motorcade of Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya.
The governor, accompanied by DAP-K Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa, Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga, and several other leaders, had attempted to access the miller to protest its controversial leasing to businessman Jaswant Rai.
The leaders, who included former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala and Bungoma gubernatorial aspirant Zachariah Barasa, decried the alleged lack of public participation in the leasing process, terming the deal illegal. They also demanded immediate payment of salary arrears owed to workers.
Governor Natembeya accused the state of stifling legitimate protests and oversight by elected leaders. “We will do everything possible, including going to court, to stop that illegal leasing,” he declared amid the tense confrontation.
The protest drew heavy security deployment, with roads to the sugar mill barricaded to prevent entry by the political leaders and their supporters. Teargas was fired to disperse the crowd, escalating tensions and sparking criticism of state heavy-handedness.
The incident has reignited debate around the government’s plan, announced by Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe, to lease out all state-owned sugar factories in a bid to revive the ailing sector. Critics argue that such decisions must involve stakeholders, especially farmers and local communities whose livelihoods are at stake.
Eugene Wamalwa condemned the move, stating that “drastic action without consulting residents and sugarcane farmers amounts to economic sabotage.”
Calls for transparency, accountability, and inclusive dialogue continue to mount as concerns grow over the future of Kenya’s sugar industry.
