Tea farmers from Mosobeti region in Nyamira County will have to wait for a little while after their tea buying centre was closed indefinitely following a row between farmers and the person who had donated the land.
On Wednesday, several farmers were compelled to turn away and take their produce to nearby buying centres after Mr James Onsomu, who is believed to have donated the land in which the buying centre was built reportedly threatened to attack farmers if they insisted on taking their products to the centre.
According to the farmers, Mr Onsomu had been promised Sh20,000 as a token for donating the land, a sum that has not been paid a year down the line.
“Mr Onsomu has turned us way and even threatened to kill us if we insisted on taking our tea leaves there. He was promised some Sh20,000 by the management and Nyansiongo Tea Factory which he claims he hasn’t received,” said Alice Mokeira, a farmer.
They urged the Nyansiongo tea management to chip in and clear the money since many farmers may incur loses if the buying centre remained closed.
“It is true that we had promised him the money, but as farmers we have been unable to raise the figure. The factory’s management should chip in to remedy the situation before late,” said Joash Aming’a, another farmer.
Mr Onsomu, however, reiterated that he was ‘fighting for his rights’ and nobody would convince him otherwise to reconsider his position.