This archive report was first published on 22 June 2021.
On June 22, 2021, ousted directors of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) took a bold step by filing a contempt of court application against Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and Interior counterpart Fred Matiang'i.
The application, filed on Tuesday, seeks to have the two CSs, along with the Attorney General and the new KTDA directors, punished for violating a court order issued by Justice Anthony Mrima on March 24, 2021, suspending an Executive Order issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 12, 2021, directing Tea Board of Kenya to conduct elections in all tea-factories within 60 days.
The ousted directors, led by lawyers Benson Milimo and Ochieng Oduor, argue that the new management team took over the control of the KTDA and its factories in defiance of the court order.
They claim that the order, which halted the leadership changes in the giant tea corporation, is still in force, making the election and assumption of office by the new team led by chairman David Ichoho Muni null and void.
This has resulted in KTDA having two parallel sets of directors, a situation the ousted directors want the court to address by punishing the alleged contemnors.
