Farmers to wait till January for determination of Mwea rice mills privatisation case

Justice Joyce Gandani set the judgment date on Tuesday after parties concluded their submissions in the case filed in 2023 by two rice farmers, John Munene Jecinta and Pius Njogu Kathuri.

The farmers moved to court after the government listed the mill for privatisation under its 2023 Privatisation Programme, arguing that the process had not involved meaningful public participation by farmers and other stakeholders.

The petitioners, who are members of the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-operative Society Limited, are represented by lawyer Kahiga Kiguru.

The government has proposed privatising 11 state-owned enterprises, citing the financial burden of running them and the need to improve their efficiency and profitability through private investment.

The government, through the National Irrigation Authority, holds a 55 per cent stake in Mwea Rice Mills, while farmers own the remaining 45 per cent through the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-operative Society.

The petitioners contend that the public participation process was inadequate, arguing that a meeting scheduled for December 11, 2023, at Nyeri Polytechnic in Nyeri County excluded the majority of rice farmers based in Kirinyaga County.

They further argued that limiting the exercise to four hours in Nyeri would disenfranchise thousands of farmers and undermine meaningful public participation.

In their application, the farmers challenged the constitutionality of the guidelines, framework and criteria used to determine the mill's inclusion in the privatisation programme. They cited alleged violations of Articles 10(2), 27, 35, 40, 47(1) and (2), and 96 of the Constitution.

They also sought conservatory orders to suspend the implementation of the Privatisation Act, which provides the legal framework for the programme, pending the hearing and determination of the petition.

On December 1, 2023, Justice R. Mwongo certified the matter as urgent and directed the petitioners to serve the application on the respondents by noon on December 4. The respondents were required to file their responses by the close of business on December 6.

Farmers who reacted to the judgment date said the ruling would determine the future of the mill, which plays a key role in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme.

Led by Nathan Kariuki, the farmers said they would attend court on January 20 to hear the outcome of the case, citing their 45 per cent ownership stake in the mill.

“We will be here on that day to hear whether the mill will be privatised, because we have a 45 per cent share,” Kariuki said.

The farmers also raised concerns over challenges affecting rice production in the scheme, including quelea birds destroying crops, snail infestations, rice imports arriving before locally produced rice is sold, and the poor condition of on-farm roads.

Kariuki said the farmers were considering further legal action over the National Irrigation Authority's collection of water charges through the eCitizen platform.

“We want Pius Njogu Kathuri and John Munene, after this case, to file another case to stop the National Irrigation Authority from collecting rice farmers' money through eCitizen for water. This money could be used to maintain our on-farm roads, which are in a very poor state,” he said.

Mary Wagatwe, a farmer from the Thiba section of the scheme, called on elected leaders to address the challenges facing farmers rather than engage in political disputes.

“I wish our elected leaders knew the problems we are undergoing in Mwea Irrigation Scheme. Instead of fighting each other, they are frustrating us,” she said.