Reports have emerged that Chemelil Sugar Academy, a top-performing mixed boarding high school in Muhoroni, Kisumu County, has plunged into a severe operational and governance crisis following the winding down of Chemelil Sugar Company Ltd in October 2025, a state-owned sugar mill that had for years struggled with chronic financial losses, obsolete equipment, low cane crushing capacity, and unpaid salaries, prompting a government-directed transition through leasing to private operator Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Limited (KSAIL) to stabilize operations and revive production.
This transition culminated in the creation of Chemelil Sugar Company 2025 Ltd (CSC2025), which assumed management of the mill under a new structure designed to modernize the facility, boost efficiency, resume milling after years of underperformance, and retain a majority of staff under fresh contracts, a process that unfolded amid phased machine rehabilitation, worker engagement, legal disputes, and community protests while the Academy’s teaching and non-teaching staff were caught in the upheaval, declared redundant, and left with unpaid salaries in the middle of the KCSE examination period.
The abrupt dismissal of Academy staff on 1st November 2025 came even after assurances from CSC2025 that the transition would be smooth, with continuity of teaching preserved and remuneration honoured, leaving learners and teachers alike in uncertainty and disrupting examinations at a critical stage, while the mounting arrears in salaries and allowances compounded the sense of instability and deepened anxiety across the school community.
Subsequent attempts by CSC2025 to re-engage staff under new terms have been met with resistance, as the interviews and proposed contracts stipulated shorter tenures, reduced salaries, removal of allowances, and outsourcing of non-teaching staff through third-party agencies with pay cuts reportedly reaching 50% and in some cases staff have not received any remuneration or formal contract, generating widespread low morale, uncertainty, and a breakdown of trust in the institution’s management.
The ongoing disruption at the Academy has left parents scrambling for alternatives, with many keeping learners at home while a special general meeting is convened to determine the immediate future of the institution.
Staff members have expressed frustration over the lack of meaningful consultation during the transition, describing the process as chaotic and poorly coordinated, with decisions affecting salaries, contracts, and staffing made without clear communication or explanation.
The situation has fuelled uncertainty and tension among both teaching and non-teaching personnel, who are left to navigate abrupt changes while ensuring that academic schedules and examinations continue under increasingly difficult circumstances.
