Cleric Ignites Revolt Against KTDA as Tea Farmers Face Crippling Exploitation

A persistent mist hung heavy over the tea bushes in Bomet County, reflecting the growing despair among small-scale farmers.

For years, the bright green fields have demanded the sweat of tea farmers, only to repay them with increasingly diminishing returns, a harvest seemingly dictated by forces beyond their control.

This desperation has found a powerful voice in Rev. Fr. Ambrose Kimutai of St. Matthew Parish, Ndarawetta.

Speaking with the fire of a revolutionary, the cleric bypassed his usual Sunday pulpit, choosing the bustling heart of the Sunday mass to address the entire struggling tea community. His presence and outspoken challenge served as a rebuke to the silence that has long shielded those allegedly exploiting the farmers.

Fr. Kimutai launched his campaign by hammering a core injustice: the deep chasm in earnings between regions. He pointed out that farmers in West-of-Rift KTDA-affiliated tea factories are receiving paltry sums with consistently dwindling bonuses, while their counterparts in the East-of-Rift celebrate significantly better returns.

"The disparity is an insult to justice!" he thundered. "How can the same tea bush, fed by the same Kenyan soil, yield such different fortunes simply because of a geographic line? The answer is simple and shameful: exploitation!"

Father Kimutai’s primary attack was on the intricate corporate structure of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). He argued that the system, initially designed to uplift the farmer, has been weaponized against them.

"KTDA has become a Hydra—a multi-headed beast," he stated. "It is through the shadows of these many subsidiary companies that the profits vanish. They are not value addition; they are value destruction for the primary producer."

He pointed directly to the alleged corruption, stating that these layers of subsidiaries—tasked with logistics, marketing, and packaging—are merely "bureaucratic black holes designed to divert profits and bleed the small farmer dry! We must not tolerate this theft a moment longer."

The cleric offered a clear ultimatum, calling for a "surgical and necessary" solution: the scrapping of non-essential subsidiary companies that he claims "serve only to drain the lifeblood" out of the sector.

"We need transparency. We need accountability. We need a direct line between the tea field and the global market, free from unnecessary leeches," he demanded. "Let the KTDA return to its core mandate: serving the farmer, not exploiting them."

Fr. Kimutai underscored that tea is not just a local grievance but the backbone of the country's economic stability. He reminded the nation that tea is Kenya's leading foreign exchange earner, stressing, "When the farmer suffers, the entire nation is put at risk."

He issued an impassioned plea to the head of state: "Mr. President William Ruto, you came into office promising transformation. The moment to act is not tomorrow, but today. You must consider the tea farmers' plight not as a grievance, but as a national crisis requiring immediate attention. We implore you to act swiftly to avert the dire situation... Break the cartels, scrap the siphoning subsidiaries, and restore the dignity of our tea farmers!"

The congregants, silent for a moment, erupted in unified cries of support, signifying the spark of a righteous movement on the hillsides of Bomet.