Workers plucking tea at an estate in Bomet County. [Photo: Standard]
The Standard | 15 April 2024
Resident wants legality of land leases to tea firms to be investigated
By Gilbert Kimutai
A resident has filed a petition at the County Assembly of Bomet seeking a probe into the legality of the lease held by multinational tea companies operating in the county,
In a fresh push to have the lands reverted to local communities, Henry Belsoi, a resident of Chesoen in Bomet Central said the leases should have ended after the declaration of independence in 1963.
Appearing before the County Assembly's committee on petitions, Belsoi argued that the companies were operating illegally and draining local resources back to their foreign countries.
He said the companies had converted the leases into full ownership saying the recent sale of part of the land under Unilever company to Kericho County for the development of a water reservoir was wrong.