Don't use miraa as campaign tool, Raila told

An official of the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders has dismissed Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s claims that the Government had abandoned miraa traders following the ban of the product in European markets.

Miraa

Phares Ruteere, who is the organisation’s Secretary General, said Raila’s statement to a group that claimed it represented the council, must be disregarded because the people who had visited Opposition leader were imposters. 

“Those who visited Raila in Nairobi were not Njuri Ncheke elders. It was a splinter group operating under the direction of some local politicians. Miraa farmers should be wary of Raila’s move to use miraa as a campaign tool,”  Ruteere noted.

President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Crop Act that recognised miraa as a cash crop. He has, however, pledged to lobby for new markets, even as the Government is working to empower miraa farmers to get alternative sources of income. — Phares Mutembei