President William Ruto has revoked the appointments of three senior officials serving as chairpersons of state-owned sugar companies.
In a notice issued on Monday, May 12, the President announced the immediate dismissal of John Nyambok as Chairperson of Chemelil Sugar Company.
Further, Alfred Khang’ati has been fired from his position as Chairperson of Nzoia Sugar Company, while the appointment of Jared Opiyo as Chairperson of South Nyanza (Sony) Sugar Company has also been revoked.
The revocations take effect immediately.
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Ruto Leases 4 Sugar Companies
On May 10, the government announced that it had officially concluded the leasing of four state-owned sugar factories to private millers.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that four private companies had been competitively selected to manage the factories under 30-year lease agreements.
Under the new arrangement, West Kenya Sugar Company took over operations at Nzoia Sugar Company, while Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd took over Chemelil Sugar Company.
Additionally, Sony Sugar Company was leased to Busia Sugar Industry, while West Valley Sugar Company Ltd assumed the management of Muhoroni Sugar Company.
CS Kagwe said that the leasing program is aimed at attracting critical private-sector investment and injecting fresh capital into the sector.
“The decision to lease out the four sugar factories was arrived at after lengthy consultations with key stakeholders across the sugar sector including farmers, sugar factory workers, unions, Members of Parliament, Governors and approvals by the cabinet.
‘It was informed by the need to ensure a return on investment for taxpayers, who have, over the years, bailed out the ailing sugar sector,” the statement from Kagwe read in part.
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Debts Paid
On May 9, Ruto announced that the government had already disbursed Ksh1.7 billion to state-owned millers to settle payments for farmers and workers, who had neither supplied cane nor worked for the government.
Further, he said that Kenya’s sugarcane production is on the rise, highlighting a 200,000-acre increase in the area under sugarcane cultivation.
According to the president, the volume of sugarcane crushed has grown from 490,000 metric tonnes over the past two years to 815,000 metric tonnes in 2025representing an increase of nearly 70%
“Last year, we paid about Ksh1.7 billion to government-owned sugar mills to pay farmers and workers, farmers who never supplied cane to the government and workers who did not work for the government. The government has no business running sugar mills,” he said.
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