Miraa exporters up in arms over illegal payment to cartel

Kenyan miraa exporters are protesting over an expensive commission they have been paying to a faceless cartel. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Kenyan miraa exporters are fuming over an expensive commission they have been paying to a faceless cartel since the resumption of trade with neighbouring Somalia in July.

The traders are claiming that they were first made to accept the commission under duress to unlock the lucrative market that had been suspended since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. The commission which is being collected at the point of hiring airfreight is $4.5 (Sh540) per kilo of miraa exported to the Horn of Africa nation.