By Arnold Ageta
In his fight against tea theft in Nyamira County, Jeremiah Migosi has once again locked horns with the management of Gianchore Tea Factory over alleged manipulation of weighing machines used by its staff.
The latest incident occurred at Bomondo Buying Centre on August 10, where a tea factory clerk was found using a weighing machine that had allegedly been tampered with.
The clerk was found using a weighing machine that was recording four kilograms less than the actual weight of tea at the buying centre.
This was confirmed through the use of a different weighing machine donated by Nyamira County senatorial aspirant Jeremiah Migosi.
Speaking to the press this morning at the offices of the Department of Weights and Measures in Nyamira, Migosi said that after cross-checking the weights recorded by the Gianchore Tea Factory machines against those recorded by the machines he had donated to the buying centre, there was a difference of four kilograms.
“After using the weighing machines from the factory, we used ours and discovered that the factory was recording 4kg less than the total weight,” he said.
He further noted that the discrepancy was acknowledged by the buying clerk, farmers and the media, before the factory management initially declined to send a different weighing machine to confirm the allegations.
“After waiting for some hours, the factory sent a different weighing machine which was not manipulated, and the weight matched that recorded by the weighing machine Migosi used to compare the weight,” he confirmed.
The incident was escalated and reported to Nyamira Police Station, where the allegedly manipulated weighing machine and Migosi’s weighing machine were booked pending assessment by the Department of Weights and Measures to ascertain the issue.
This morning, in the company of Gianchore Tea Factory management officials, farmers and the press, Migosi led the team to the offices of the Department of Weights and Measures in the county to have the weighing machines assessed.
The machines that had been booked at Nyamira Police Station were released to officials from the Department of Weights and Measures for assessment.
After the assessment, it was noted that the weights recorded by both machines were matching, something that made Migosi suspect foul play.
“Before we booked these weighing machines, the factory weighing machines had a difference of 4kg, but a miracle has happened that they are now reading correctly,” he wondered.
He, however, noted that the tea factory weighing machines are usually tampered with on the way to the buying centres because they are not tamper-proof, even after being calibrated by the Department of Weights and Measures.
“On that day they were tampered with, leading to the weight variation, and because we left these weighing machines somewhere, I suspect they were adjusted,” he observed.
He explained that he was motivated by complaints from tea farmers about theft at buying centres through the use of adjusted weighing machines that do not provide accurate and actual weights of their tea.
“When I started giving out these weighing machines to tea buying centres, we discovered that there was a variance of between 3kg and 4kg,” he said.
He added that many tea-buying centres have embraced the weighing machines, while a few are against them because they do not want to stop stealing from farmers.
“In buying centres where we have issued these weighing machines, farmers have testified that their tea weights have improved significantly, ending the perennial tea theft,” he announced. “You can clearly see that the factories are using manipulated weighing machines that are burdening tea farmers.”
Evans Nyang’au, a tea farmer from Bomondo Tea Buying Centre, said farmers from the centre had been complaining about tea theft for a long time without receiving help.
He claimed that their tea had been stolen for a long time and called on the Department of Weights and Measures to intervene and address the issue once and for all.
He added that Migosi’s efforts had made many tea clerks slow down in their alleged theft activities because of fear.
“Since Migosi started distributing these weighing machines, theft has reduced but still remains rampant where Migosi’s weighing machines are not available for counter-checking,” said Nyang’au.
Nyang’au applauded Migosi’s fight against tea theft in buying centres, saying farmers were now witnessing more accurate weights of their tea compared to the weights recorded before his intervention.
He said they would continue counter-checking weights at their buying centres because they would not work hard for someone else to benefit unfairly.
Migosi has vowed to continue with his anti-theft campaign in the county until theft is rooted out of buying centres and, eventually, tea factories.
“I will continue giving these weighing machines to tea buying centres to counter-check the weight of their tea after the clerk has used the tea factory machines to stop theft,” he concluded.
