Move to oust managers flops at last minute

BY NDERITU GICHURE

NYERI, KENYA: Sections of coffee farmers affiliated to Kiandu Factory were yesterday dispersed by armed police officers after the management accused them of holding an illegal meeting.

The more than 100 farmers were holed up in a meeting in an attempt to kick out the team they accused of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.

The meeting, which started at around 10am, had gone on well amid tight security inside the factory before the police stormed the venue and ordered them to leave the premises.

Tetu OCPD Stephen Obara made a phone call and told his officers to order the farmers to leave the factory.

The meeting had been convened by a splinter group to force the management out of office.

Mr Obara said he decided to call off the gathering because the farmers had not notified the police of their intended meeting.

According to the spokesman of the splinter group, which is calling for the overhaul of the management team, Kariuki Mundie, the police ordered the farmers to disperse despite the meeting being peaceful.

“The farmers are demanding a financial audit of their accounts after realising that the management is embezzling their funds,” said Mr Mundie.

They accuse three officials of lack of transparency and accountability in handling financial matters pertaining to the society for the last two years.

“We have been intimidated by the management after they failed to explain why they have not presented audited accounts of all the financial transactions over the last two years,” said Mundie.

In a stormy meeting held at Kiandu Coffee Factory, the farmers appealed to Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua to intervene before the matter gets out of hand.

The farmers, led by SM Ndirangu, had given the chairman of the factory a two-week ultimatum to convene a special meeting to discuss the financial statements of the factory from an independent auditor and the commissioner of the co-operatives.

“The management has been unilaterally sacking officials and workers without consulting the farmers and failing to hold annual general meetings for two years,” Ndirangu said.

They said failure to convene the meeting had prompted them to call their own to oust the officials.