KTDA leadership feud sparks farmer livelihood fears

 Newly elected KTDA national chairman James Mwangi Githinji receives the certificate of appointment from company secretary Matthews Odero. [Courtesy, KTDA]

The chairman of Kenya's biggest tea agency had protested his removal but was subsequently reinstated by a court order, a leadership dispute that has revived concerns over farmer payments and the management of an agency representing hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers.

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) placed a statement in national newspapers on Saturday stating that Mr Enos Njeru remains the substantive chairman of the KTDA board, following a court order granting conservatory orders of stay.

This follows the board's election of James Mwangi Githinji as chairman on November 3, said KTDA in its notice.

The status quo is maintained until the matter is heard on November 24, KTDA said, assuring stakeholders that operations continue uninterrupted.

The dispute escalated after Mr Njeru publicly protested the leadership change in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

"Enough is enough! KTDA Cannot be held hostage by individual greed and selfish interests," Njeru wrote.

He alleged that the meeting electing Githinji took place without the knowledge or participation of six board members and questioned its legality.

"I will not be anybody's puppet. Nobody has the authority to intimidate, blackmail or coerce me into participating in questionable, unlawful or unethical dealings," he stated, adding he would "rather lose my seat than betray the farmers."

Njeru further alleged, without naming individuals, that some board members were involved in illegal payments and the potential use of farmers' money for political campaign financing. "I will not sanction illegal or questionable payments. I will not allow farmers' money to be used for political campaign financing by some board members," he said.

KTDA said in its statement: "We assure our stakeholders that our operations continue uninterrupted." The agency did not address the allegations made by Njeru in the statement, and had not commented on them by press time. When reached for comment, KTDA referred The Sunday Standard to the notice.

KTDA represents a vast network of smallholder farmers, with estimates varying. Industry figures put the number at more than 680,000 farmers across 71 factories.

KTDA's decisions affect the livelihoods of several hundred thousand farming households and, indirectly, millions of dependents in Kenya's tea-growing regions.

KTDA has repeatedly emphasised its "Farmers First" mantra in recent years, with leadership pledging to prioritise smallholder earnings and value addition.

However, the governance dispute has raised questions about whether that commitment can hold when the agency's top leadership is itself contested.

The timing of the dispute is particularly sensitive. The KTDA leadership crisis comes on the heels of a challenging year for the sector, as outlined in the recently released Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report 2025.

While the report highlighted growth in export volumes and earnings, it also recorded a decline in production due to unfavourable weather conditions.

According to the report, tea production for 2025 declined by 8.04 per cent to 550.37 million kilogrammes, down from 598.47 million kilogrammes in 2024.

For smallholder farmers, the core concern remains straightforward: tea payments.

Analysts say any instability at the agency level risks delaying or disrupting the flow of earnings that farming households depend on—and the allegations of financial mismanagement, if substantiated, would strike directly at that welfare.

Payments to farmers are a critical component of the rural economy.

One smallholder farmer in the tea-growing region of Kericho, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, expressed deep concern over the developments.

"This is alarming for us. When the leadership is fighting, we are the ones who suffer. We depend on the payments from KTDA to feed our families and pay school fees. If the leadership is not stable, how can we be sure our money is safe? The allegations of misuse of funds are very worrying," the farmer said.

The farmer's sentiment echoes broader anxieties within the tea-growing communities, where KTDA is not just a business entity but a lifeline, farmers said.

The allegations of financial impropriety, coupled with the leadership turmoil, have cast a shadow over the agency's ability to deliver on its promises to farmers, they said.

The dispute raises questions about the governance structure of KTDA, a body that manages billions of shillings in tea sales.

Mr Njeru, in his post, called for fundamental restructuring, stating: "KTDA Holdings needs fundamental restructuring, and the question of whether the current structure should continue in its present form must be confronted without fear or favour."

The matter is scheduled for November 24, when the courts will give direction.

KTDA reiterated that "operations continue uninterrupted," even as farmers say the stability of the agency's leadership is directly tied to the stability of their incomes.