Court suspends Uhuru orders on tea elections
An Executive Order directing the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to conduct elections for its directors in 54 factories has been suspended by the court.
The suspension order that is to be in force until the court hands its final verdict is to give room to KTDA and the National Government enough time to legally battle on who should take control of the sector that has 620,000 registered small-scale tea growers.
The constitutional court sitting in Nairobi ruled that the Executive Order issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 12 touched on issues that had been raised in another case that was filed by Attorney General Kihara Kariuki. The case sought to stop the agency from holding elections last year.
It is in this case that the AG had obtained orders suspending elections that had been planned by KTDA in all its 54 factories early last year.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court had also granted conservatory orders suspending the Crops (Tea Industry) Regulations, 2020, that had been issued by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya in April last year.
“The fact that there are lawful orders in place obtained by the AG staying elections of the petitioner in Mombasa, and further the issue whether KTDA and its subsidiaries ought to be aligned, it is in order for the interim order to be issued,” Justice Anthony Mrima ruled.
The judge also ordered parties in the matter filed by KTDA at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court to file their responses to the issues raised by the agency within the next 14 days. The matter will be mentioned for further directions on April 20.
In the application in which KTDA through Milimo & Muthomi Company Advocates has named CS Agriculture, CS Interior and the AG as respondents, the court was told it has the powers and jurisdiction to hear and determine applications for redress of a denial, violation or infringement of, or threat to, a right or fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights.
KTDA argued that her 54 subsidiaries are private firms undertaking lawfully licensed businesses in the country, adding that the government had no shares in the business.
The president is alleged to have issued the Executive Order that directed the tea board to sanction elections in all the factories within 60 days without affording KTDA a hearing.
The order stated that the Tea Board of Kenya shall cause the development of tea sub-sector (Corporate Governance) regulations/guidelines on directorships; which guidelines shall, inter alia, set term limits for the chairperson and directors of entities involved in the tea value chain.
The order also required the AG, Ministry of Agriculture, jointly with and the Ministry of Industrialisation, to take immediate remedial measures to ensure that each of the subsidiaries of KTDA has separate governance structures.
KTDA yesterday said in its application that the effect of the impugned order as issued by the president had the intention to take over, control and destroy altogether the management, structure, operations and business of the agency, its subsidiaries and 54 corporate shareholder tea factory companies.
It further argued that the order was issued notwithstanding the serious fundamental constitutionality and legality questions raised as well as the immediate devastating and would-be near-collapse effects it has on the small-scale tea industry in Kenya, and in particular KTDA, her subsidiaries and shareholders.
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