KTDA chairman Chege Kirundi, during a past event. PHOTO/UGC.
By ABDULHAKIM SHERMAN
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has suspended top managers at its subsidiary, Chai Trading Company, as the newly installed board launches a sweeping crackdown on graft.
Last month, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided the company’s offices in Mombasa, ejecting CEO Francis Muthamia alongside several senior staff from the Finance and Procurement departments.
Following interrogation, the affected officials were issued with ‘show cause’ letters, requiring them to explain why they should not face disciplinary action.
The DCI operation came a day after a KTDA board meeting chaired by the new board chairman, Mr Chege Kirundi. According to sources within KTDA, the CEO of the Tea Board of Kenya, Mr Willy Mutai, also attended the meeting, which acted on recommendations from a forensic audit report.
The audit, conducted by the Tea Board of Kenya, had followed mounting complaints over procurement irregularities and corruption within Chai Trading.
Chai Trading Company is a wholly owned KTDA based in Mombasa that provide tea trading and value addition, freight ,warehousing and logisitcs services to a wide range of clients.
Officials at the Mombasa-based company confirmed that all senior Finance department staff had been suspended.
“All the suspended managers, including the CEO, have been replaced by acting officials drawn from KTDA headquarters,” an internal source revealed.
The audit at Chai Trading uncovered several instances of fraud, prompting the ongoing investigations. Notably, in May 2022, the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) filed a case against Mr Muthamia over the alleged misappropriation of KSh 35 million, believed to be proceeds of corruption. In October 2024, a court ruled that the funds were indeed illegally obtained and ordered that they be forfeited to the state.
Insiders indicate that the suspended officials are expected to be charged once the DCI completes its investigations.
There are also indications that the probe may soon extend to KTDA headquarters in Nairobi where the Agency’s top management are also said to be under DCI scrutiny.
KTDA is a private company owned by approximately 600,000 smallholder tea farmers across 16 tea-growing counties in Kenya. These farmers are shareholders in 54 tea companies, which collectively own KTDA Holdings and its eight subsidiaries.
Some of the 54 factory companies have expanded their operations by setting up 15 satellite factories, bringing the total number of smallholder-owned tea factories to 69.
The KTDA subsidiaries enhance the tea value chain and include Chai Trading Company Ltd, KTDA (Management Services), Majani Insurance Brokers, Kenya Tea Packers Ltd (KETEPA), Greenland Fedha Ltd, KTDA Foundation, Tea Machinery and Engineering Company Ltd, and KTDA Power Company Ltd.
The new KTDA board, led by Mr Kirundi, has reportedly embarked on an aggressive campaign to clean up KTDA subsidiaries and restore value to tea farmers.
Mr Kirundi assumed leadership after ousting former chairman Enos Njeru in what has been described as a boardroom coup.
