Coffee farmers push for laws review to tame graft corruption

Coffee farmers in central Kenya are pushing for a review of co-operative societies laws to tame corruption.

Farmers supplying less than 1,500 kilogramme of coffee for three consecutive years cannot be allowed to contest for a post. Michael Muthii, a farmer under Mwerua Co-operative Society, says the law favours the veteran corrupt officials.

Mr Muthii said some committee members have served since 1972, making it hard to get rid of corrupt leaders.

“It is sensible if they serve for at least six years, but serving for over 40 years is unfair,” said Mr Muthii.

John Mutuango, another coffee farmer, said they are also not allowed to participate in any annual general meeting which is usually conducted under heavy security and are never given a chance to choose millers for marketing their produce.

“A good example is the coffee that was harvested in April and was sold to Central Millers without our consent,” he said.

The farmers on Wednesday protested over misuse of funds at Mwerua Cooperative Society. They said the directors had bought a second-hand coffee processing machine for Getuya Factory without the farmers’ consent for an inflated price of Sh900,000.

They are also accusing the officials of receiving bribes to give a tender to Central Millers to market farmers’ produce.

“Our complaints have been ignored for long. There is a time that the cooperative commissioner ‘elected’ the committee members in a boardroom meeting in 2002 without an election,” said Mr Muthii.

He also said nepotism was common as committee members hire their relatives as society workers, making it easy for the officials to engage in corrupt deals.

A committee member of Mwerua Co-operative Society, Amos Rukenya who has served for 31 years, denied the allegations, accusing Mr Muthii of incitement.

Mr Rukenya said that Central Millers was awarded the contract on fair terms, considering that there were many applicants like Nyambene and Thika Millers.

“We considered it as it was the cheapest marketer and claims that we were given Sh5 million bribe are false,” said Mr Rukenya.

He also denied claims that the co-operative society bought land at Kimichia in Kutus, Kirinyaga for constructing a coffee milling plant.

“These farmers are not well informed. The land was bought by Kirinyaga Union and not by Mwerua society,” he said.

He also defended the long periods they have served as committee members, saying that the farmers re-elected them without coercion.

However, the farmers said attempts to propose amendments to the co-operative society by-laws had been ignored.