KTDA spotlighted as lawmakers call for audit, inquiry

A section of legislators from tea-growing regions have demanded a comprehensive audit and forensic investigation into the Kenya Tea Development Agency.

Addressing the press at Bunge Towers  on Wednesday, the MPs cited deep-rooted corruption, mismanagement and exploitation of smallholder farmers.

Led by Konoin MP Brighton Yegon, they accused KTDA Holdings and its subsidiary, KTDA Management Services, of presiding over “systemic rot” that has impoverished more than 700,000 smallholder tea farmers.

“A thorough investigation of recruitment processes and a lifestyle audit must be carried out both for factory top management and clerks to address the falsification of weighing scale scandal,” he said.

They announced plans to table a motion for the formation of an ad hoc committee to investigate KTDA operations.

The lawmakers also want the ad hoc team to fast-track the Tea Amendment Bill that is awaiting its second reading in the National Assembly.

In a joint statement, the 12 MPs accused KTDA Management Services of inflating production costs, citing suspicious procurement of firewood, exaggerated staff expenses and manipulation of weighing scales at factory collection centres.

The lawmakers also decried the 2025 second payment of a bonus as the lowest in recent history, yet tea remains Kenya’s second-largest foreign exchange earner—generating Sh215 billion in export value in 2024.  

“The West of Rift accounts for 68 per cent of national production and produces the world's best tea but they were short-changed yet again,” Yegon said.

Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo called for the immediate transfer of all factory managers who have served more than three years in one plant and the dismissal of all those found culpable of corruption.

He also revealed reports of ghost farmers and falsified tea records, claiming some clerks had been allocating kilos of tea to non-existent growers.

“It is alleged that some clerks and ghost farmers have so many kilogrammes of tea without corresponding known tea garden acreage,” he said, adding the call for a full audit of all factory-level data and production reports.

The MPs accused KTDA directors of prioritising personal enrichment through excessive board meetings and inflated allowances while neglecting farmers’ welfare.

Kisii Woman representative Dorice Donya called for a review of the agency’s governance structure, including term limits, allowance caps and mandatory performance evaluations to restore accountability and align operations with farmers’ needs.

“We need a review of representation models, equitable distribution of brokerage licenses and the disbandment of the current tea trade association, calling for a more transparent, farmer-led system,” she said.

The MPs also raised concerns over more than Sh3 billion deducted from farmers for hydropower projects meant to reduce factory energy costs while they claimed the funds were used exclusively for projects in the East of Rift.

“We demand the criteria used in allocating funds and why the west of Rift factories were excluded,” added the joint statement.

The MPs further demanded that the Sh2.7 billion previously held by the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation after the collapse of Chase Bank and Imperial Bank and released by President William Ruto on September 11, be immediately disbursed to the affected tea factories.

In a decisive move, the MPs announced plans to table a motion in Parliament seeking the formation of an ad hoc committee to investigate KTDA operations, as well as to fast-track the Tea Amendment Bill, currently awaiting its second reading in the National Assembly.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

KTDA had explained that variations in earnings occur because tea from high-altitude zones generally fetches better prices due to its higher quality, which is preferred in international markets.