Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi has challenged KTDA Zone Seven chairman Baptista Kanyaru to account for tea factory expenditure and explain the low bonus payments to farmers instead of blaming political leaders for the sector’s woes.
Kathuri dismissed accusations that he failed tea farmers by allowing the 0.8 per cent tea export levy to pass through Parliament, insisting the measure was introduced through regulations issued by the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary and was never debated in the Senate plenary.
The senator said he would engage the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and the Tea Board of Kenya to establish how much each factory had paid under the levy, amid growing discontent among farmers over reduced bonus payments.
His response follows Kanyaru’s accusation that Meru legislators, including Kathuri, ignored memorandums opposing the levy despite warnings that it would undermine farmers’ earnings.
Kanyaru, who is also a director at Kiegoi Tea Factory, has alleged that the government and the Tea Board intimidated factories to withdraw from a court challenge against the levy, maintaining that Imenti, Kiegoi and Kinoro would continue pursuing the case.
But Kathuri accused the tea director of evading his responsibilities by failing to provide farmers with detailed accounts of factory expenditure and the factors behind the reduced bonuses.
He said factory directors should explain costs incurred on firewood, electricity, salaries, board meetings, outstanding loans and interest before attributing farmers’ lower earnings to the levy.
“Instead of politicising tea bonuses, you should be in the factory with farmers, reading the balance sheet and explaining how their money has been spent,” Kathuri said.
The senator argued that factory-level accountability was necessary to establish the extent to which the levy had affected farmers, warning against attributing every reduction in bonus payments to a single charge without examining other expenses.
He also accused Kanyaru of using the dispute to advance his political ambitions ahead of the 2027 General Election, when he is expected to seek the Igembe Central parliamentary seat.
Kathuri further disputed Kanyaru’s account of the legislative process, saying the levy was handled by the Senate Delegated Legislation Committee and did not go through a plenary debate.
He challenged the tea director to identify where the Senate had debated and passed the measure as an Act of Parliament.
The senator said he had previously urged Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe to abolish the levy, arguing that it was introduced through regulations rather than a Bill passed by Parliament and assented to by the President.
“I will be meeting KTDA and the Tea Board of Kenya so that they can explain the amount deducted from every factory,” he said.
Kathuri also questioned the costs incurred by tea factory boards, alleging that frequent meetings held in expensive locations were contributing to the financial pressure facing the sector.
He said farmers deserved a transparent breakdown of factory revenues and expenditure to establish why their payments had declined.
The dispute comes amid widespread concern over lower tea bonuses, with farmers and industry leaders debating the contribution of export levies, operating expenses and market conditions to declining returns.
Kanyaru has maintained that the 0.8 per cent levy is hurting the industry and that the remaining factories pursuing the legal challenge will not withdraw their case.
