Coffee farmers are demanding to be told how Sh360 million realised from the sale of their 300-acre land was utilised.
The farmers affiliated to Kirinyaga District Cooperative Union said the land in Nyeri was sold without their consent.
They also accused the then management committee of spending the proceeds without consulting them.
Led by Fredrick Muriuki, the farmers alleged the land was sold in 2011, when agitation for a State debt waiver was in top gear.
“The union management committee was aware farmers were agitating for a debt waiver from the Government to cushion them from the non-performing loans yet it rushed to dispose of the land without bringing the farmers on board,” Mr Muriuki said.
He said the union, which used to run a banking section, allegedly allowed its employees, in cahoots with some committee members, to run down the institution, which went down with depositor’s money.
FULL INQUIRY
The farmers are now demanding a full independent inquiry to establish how the bank sank and who took what from the institution.
But the current chairman, Kimani Gatuguta, while acknowledging the farmers’ claims, said the immediate former management committee should be held accountable.
He said when he took over the bank had already collapsed and the prime land in Nyeri sold, with records indicating the proceeds from the sale were used to pay the depositors of the bank.
“The concerns and demands raised by the farmers are varied, but only a commission of inquiry can fully provide answers as to what transpired at the time,” he said.
The union has close to 100,000 members drawn from Mwerua, Mutira, Inoe, Kabare, Baragwe and former Ngariama coffee sacco.
