The High Court in Busia has quashed a directive by the Kenya Sugar Board freezing harvesting of sugarcane by millers in Western region.
Justice William Musyoka granted the aggrieved farmers leave to apply for urgent conservatory orders staying KSB's directive that sought to suspend milling operations in the upper and lower western catchment areas for a period of three months to allow cane to mature.
"That leave is granted to the ex parte applicants to apply for an order of mandamus compelling the Kenya Sugar Board to allow and facilitate the harvesting and sale of the applicant's mature sugarcane to the designated milling company,” Musyoka said.
Farmers Cleophas Okwara, Peter Manyuru, Moses Emudu and three others moved to court and filed a petition to challenge what they termed as ‘arbitrary and disruptive’ directive by the regulatory agency.
They argued that the directive by KSB, if enforced, would result in massive financial losses, breach of contract with millers, and potential spoilage of mature cane, leading to economic hardship for farmers already grappling with rising production costs of living.
They contend that the decision to halt milling operations was made arbitrarily and without input from farmers who stand to suffer the most from the move.
The petitioners want the board restrained from interfering with their contractual and economic rights tied to the harvesting and sale of their cane to licensed millers who should immediately resume harvesting our mature cane.
“We hope the directive by the KSB is not intended to create an artificial sugar shortage so that corrupt and greedy individuals can benefit from sugar importation at the expense of suffering farmers,” Manyuru said in his sworn affidavit.
Emudu said most cane farmers in the region are bound by supply contracts with specific milling companies, and the sudden closure of operations would amount to a breach of those legally binding agreements.
“This situation could have been avoided if there had been proper consultations before the decision was made. We were neither involved nor notified. It caught us by surprise,” he said.
The Kenya Sugar Board last month announced a temporary shutdown of milling operations in parts of western Kenya citing need to address issues of cane poaching and allow for crop maturity to stabilise supply.
