Nominated Senator Esther Okenyuri has sounded the alarm over what she termed as glaring disparities in tea bonus payments across Kenya’s tea-growing regions. Speaking on the Senate floor, Okenyuri expressed concern that farmers in Kisii and Nyamira counties were being shortchanged compared to their counterparts in the Mt Kenya region.
According to Okenyuri, while farmers in counties such as Nyeri, Murang’a, Meru, Kirinyaga, Embu, and Kiambu are receiving bonuses averaging Sh50 per kilo, those in Kisii and Nyamira are earning as little as Sh12 per kilo.
“This glaring disparity has caused deep frustration and triggered anger among farmers who feel discriminated against despite producing tea that is sold in the same international markets,” she told the House.
The senator warned that the discontent had already escalated into unrest, with reports of enraged farmers destroying tea collection centres in protest. She also questioned the fairness of the Kenya Tea Development Agency’s (KTDA) pricing and distribution systems, arguing that smallholder farmers in certain regions may be systematically disadvantaged.
Okenyuri cautioned that these inequities risk destabilising Kenya’s tea sector, which remains a major foreign exchange earner and a source of livelihood for millions of households. She urged the government, KTDA, and other stakeholders to urgently institute reforms that restore fairness, transparency, and equity among all tea farmers.
Her remarks came shortly after KTDA issued a statement attributing the reduced bonuses to international market dynamics and currency movements. The agency noted that in 2024 the Kenyan shilling traded at an average of Sh144 against the US dollar, compared to Sh129 in 2025. The stronger shilling, KTDA explained, meant lower returns in local currency despite stable global tea prices.
Protests have already erupted in tea belt counties west of the Rift Valley, including Nyamira, Kisii, Kericho, Bomet, Nandi, and Vihiga, where farmers have received lower bonuses compared to those east of the Rift Valley.
