This archive report was first published on 29 June 2021.
On June 29, 2021, Iranian Ambassador to Kenya Jafar Barmaki visited Bomet to oversee the flagging off of a 'first consignment of tea' being sold directly to Iran. However, questions have arisen about the deal's legitimacy.
Several leaders and residents have accused Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok of playing politics with tea matters in a bid to win the confidence of tea farmers from the region. Barchok has been opposed to the new tea regulations and even moved to court challenging the section barring direct tea sales.
Following a recent court reprieve, the governor expressed his happiness and vowed to forge ahead with the negotiations about the deal. He invited the ambassador to the county on Friday where they held talks and later flagged off a truck carrying goods said to be tea.
However, the event had earlier been planned for Motigo tea factory in Bomet central, but it was later cancelled. During the event at the governor's office, there was no representation from the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA), a clear indication that it is opposed to the idea by the county.
Directors from respective tea factories in the region held their board meetings on the day, with most of those who spoke to us saying they had not been invited. 'We support the government in the ongoing implementation of tea reforms...if the governor is genuine in what he is doing, what did he not invite us? He should stop duping the tea farmers for his own political interests,' said one of the directors.
It is also unclear as to the quantity of tea the truck carried, the selling price, and the factory from which the tea was sourced from. The trailer had its registration number plates and company concealed, rendering the whole exercise fishy.
