Franklin Bett held by guards for hours at Unilever tea barrier

Former Roads Minister Franklin Bett PHOTO:COURTESY

Senatorial aspirant Franklin Bett was on Sunday blocked from leaving the premises of a tea factory after campaigning.

The former Roads minister, who is hoping to clinch the Jubilee ticket in the ongoing nominations, said Unilever Tea Company guards held up his team for close to two hours.

He said he wondered why the management allowed him to campaign within the premises only for guards manning a barrier near Kerenga airstrip to stop his team from leaving.

“We have been held at a road barrier for close to two hours for no apparent reason. While we understand Unilever and other multinational tea companies are private properties, some of the roads within their territories are public facilities. These companies must respect roads users. I don’t understand why the guards refused to let us through.

“There was nothing illegal about my tour of tea zones in the region to look for votes.

“The company should not forget it is not operating under the British jurisdiction and should, therefore, have rules that are friendly to Kericho residents. It must respect the Constitution,” said Bett.

Unilever Tea Company Corporate Affairs Manager Joseph Mitei said he was not aware of the incident and asked for time to establish what had happened.

“I am not aware of the incident. Let me find out the details.

I’m surprised that someone was held up for two hours and my office did not get to know about it,” said Mitei.