MPs probe sale of Busia cane farmers’ land to private firm

• The joint committees on Agriculture and Lands will visit Mumias and Busia this week to find out how an 840 hectares (34,000 acres) piece of land leased from farmers in Nasewa area was transferred and sold after the lease expired.
• The joint probe team also revealed that up to Sh1 billion was spent by the government to buy equipment for the Busia Sugar Factory — a private firm with no government shareholding. The equipment was not delivered.
• Agriculture committee chairman John Mututho said the government leased the land for 33 years and paid Sh100 per acre to farmers.
• On expiry of the 33 -year-old lease, Mumias purportedly took over the said land and sold it at Sh110 million instead of renewing the lease or discharging the land to original owners.

A parliamentary committee is investigating the circumstances under which Mumias Sugar Company acquired and disposed of public land in Busia to private entities.

The joint committees on Agriculture and Lands will visit Mumias and Busia this week to find out how an 840 hectares (34,000 acres) piece of land leased from farmers in Nasewa area was transferred and sold after the lease expired.

The joint probe team also revealed that up to Sh1 billion was spent by the government to buy equipment for the Busia Sugar Factory — a private firm with no government shareholding. The equipment was not delivered.

Agriculture committee chairman John Mututho said the government leased the land for 33 years and paid Sh100 per acre to farmers.

“Upon the surrender of the land by farmers who wanted a new factory built in Busia, three individuals registered Busia Sugar Company and took the title deeds for the public land,” Mr Mututho said.

He said farmers were then asked to sell their produce to Mumias through the Busia Sugar Company and that it did not pay farmers the proceeds leading to an accumulated debt of Sh55 million.

“When farmers demanded payments from Mumias, Busia Sugar Company leased the Nasewa land to Mumias to recover the debt,” he said.
The Naivasha MP said the first tranche of Sh44 million was paid to Mumias which had paid farmers leaving a balance of Sh11 million.

On expiry of the 33 -year-old lease, Mumias purportedly took over the said land and sold it at Sh110 million instead of renewing the lease or discharging the land to original owners.

He claimed the land was acquired through public money, but was sold to a private company belonging to a senior employee of Mumias at the time.