By Arnold Ageta
Aspiring Nyamira Senator Jeremiah Migosi has dismissed claims that the tea weighing machines he is issuing to tea buying centres are fake, saying those spreading the rumours are the same people behind tea theft.
Speaking at a funeral at Nsicha Primary School in Kiabonyoru Ward, where four people who died after a pit latrine under construction collapsed were being mourned, Migosi said directors opposing the new weighing machines are undermining tea farmers.
“These weighing machines bear the government seal, showing that they have been approved by the Weights and Measures Department,” he said.
Migosi explained that the seal confirms the machines have been certified by the government and are fit for use. He vowed to continue distributing them to tea buying centres to ensure farmers receive accurate measurements for their tea.
“Starting next week, I will continue distributing these machines to our tea buying centres to help protect your hard-earned tea from dishonest weighing practices,” he said.
He regretted that for many years, tea buying clerks have allegedly been stealing from farmers by using improperly calibrated weighing machines.
Migosi said the new machines will enhance transparency at tea buying centres by allowing farmers to compare the readings from the factory’s weighing machines with those he has distributed.
“If the weight recorded by the tea factory’s weighing machine tallies with the machine I have issued, farmers will go home satisfied,” he explained.
Earlier, Migosi met farmers at Gesore Tea Buying Centre, where he presented them with a digital weighing machine.
The farmers welcomed the donation, saying they would no longer tolerate the theft of tea kilograms at their buying centre.
Migosi recalled an incident at Bondeni Tea Buying Centre, where he had also donated a weighing machine.
He claimed that after tea buying clerks learned about it, they stopped reporting to the centre for fear of being caught engaging in theft.
“We will not allow clerks and directors to continue stealing from farmers as they have done in the past,” he warned.
While handing over the machine, Migosi cautioned the chairman of Gesore Tea Buying Centre against individuals who might attempt to replace the genuine machine with a similar one to facilitate continued tea theft.
In addition to the weighing machine, he provided extra batteries and a battery charger to ensure the machine remains operational every day.
Migosi also urged tea factories in Nyamira to increase monthly tea payments to farmers, arguing that the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) had already approved higher payments, which have been implemented in other parts of the country but not in Nyamira.
He claimed that farmers in Kisii and Nyamira counties receive only KSh 12 per kilogram as bonus payments, compared to as much as KSh 57 in Central Kenya.
“The payments in Nyamira are financed through loans rather than proceeds from tea sales,” he alleged.
He further claimed that directors from Nyamira have been exchanging tea from the county with tea from Central Kenya at the Mombasa auction.
“That is why they claim our tea is of poor quality, yet our farmers have been shortchanged at the auction, leading to poor payments,” Migosi said.
Migosi accused the directors of mismanagement, saying he had reported the matter to investigative agencies and pledged to pursue it until justice is served for tea farmers.
He also alleged that the directors secretly amended election rules to allow themselves to seek third terms, despite the law limiting them to two terms.
He urged farmers not to allow the changes to take effect in their zones, saying he is pursuing the matter with the government and will ensure that the directors are not re-elected next year.
“I have sought legal intervention through the courts to stop these directors from sneaking into another term in 2027 because even the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture is aware of the issue,” he concluded.
Migosi, who is seeking to unseat the incumbent Nyamira Senator, Okong’o O’Mogeni, has been actively championing reforms in the tea sector in Nyamira, a move that has earned him growing support among tea farmers.
