Kagwe declares crackdown on green leaf tea hawking

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has issued a firm directive to end tea hawking in the country, blaming the unregulated practice for compromising the quality of Kenyan tea and threatening its reputation on the global market.

Speaking during a meeting with stakeholders, Kagwe said tea factories found non-compliant with green leaf hawking regulations, under the Tea Act, 2020, risk being delicensed.
“The government will not sit back and watch the tea industry go to the dogs,” he said. 

“Why is it still going on? Why are we allowing people to buy, why are the factories buying tea from hawkers—and you are licensing them? Why don’t you close?”

The CS also announced that, starting immediately, tea hawking across the country would be halted to restore quality control and protect farmers’ earnings. 

“Effective immediately, tea hawking will be stopped to ensure that farmers deliver their tea directly to factories, where quality standards can be upheld,” he said. 

According to Kagwe, hawkers and unscrupulous traders often introduce substandard tea into the supply chain, lowering the quality of the final product sold at the Mombasa tea auction. 

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“One hawker or trader who delivers tea that does not meet the required standard spoils the whole batch, affecting prices and the reputation of our tea globally.” 

HE also expressed frustration with government officers who have failed to take action against hawking.  “If you find there is hawking in that area and an officer is there, then he should not be there. We cannot continue with the same story every day,” said the CS.

Meanwhile, tea farmers in Bomet can now heave a sigh of relief following the resolution of a long-standing dispute involving the Kapkoros Tea Factory. Workers have been urged to immediately resume plucking and delivering green leaf to their respective factories.

The CS, who chaired a consultative meeting with stakeholders in the tea sector, confirmed that the matter had been resolved. 

The meeting upheld the farmers' decision to separate Motigo and Olenguruone factories from Kapkoros Tea Factory PLC.

As part of the resolutions, the Kapkoros Tea Factory board was directed to convene a Special General Meeting (SGM) of shareholders within 21 days to approve the separation and address farmers’ concerns.

Stakeholders were urged to withdraw all active court petitions, cease hostilities, and refrain from any actions that could disrupt operations or management of the four tea factories—Kapkoros, Tirgaga, Motigo, and Olenguruone.

The resolution followed a week-long boycott by farmers from Motigo and Olenguruone, who had suspended tea plucking and delivery in protest, demanding financial and operational independence from Kapkoros.

On December 15, 2023, the farmers voted in favor of separating their accounts and achieving financial autonomy from Kapkoros—a decision that was reaffirmed later in the year.