Kisumu Woman Rep Ruth Odinga /FILE
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga is demanding a comprehensive investigation into last week’s incident where goons attacked the Chemilil Sugar Academy.
She claimed the incident that took place on June 18, when a gang of about thirty-armed men stormed the school, assaulted pupils, staff and suppliers, leaving at least 10 injured, is linked to control of the sugar company’s assets.
“But I must be honest with you: this attack cannot and should not be treated as an isolated case of thuggery. It did not happen in a vacuum. It happened in the middle of a dispute over who controls that school's accounts and its fees – a dispute that only exists because of the much larger, much more dangerous conflict now unfolding across our sugar belt following the leasing of our publicly owned sugar millers,” the MP said in a statement on Sunday evening.
The legislator is now calling for a full and independent investigation into the attack, "One that does not stop at the men who carried out the raid, but asks who benefits from the conflict that produced it."
“If we treat this as a simple case of criminals attacking a school, we will arrest a few young men and move on, and we will have learnt nothing. We will be back here again, at another institution, with another tragedy. I am calling for a full investigation into this attack that traces it back to its true origin: the conflict between the new management at Chemelil Sugar Company and the institutions and communities around it.”
Ruth claims that what happened at Chemelil mirrors what has already been happening in Muhoroni where workers and farmers welcomed the leasing of Muhoroni Sugar Company with real hope, after years of mismanagement under state ownership.
That hope has been betrayed according to her because employment has fallen from more than 1,000 workers at the point of leasing to roughly 300 today, far below the 80 per cent retention that the Transition Committee guidelines require.
“Our trade unions tell me they have effectively been locked out, with workers facing reduced salaries and doubled workloads. I have received deeply troubling reports of deaths among factory staff linked to the stress of these conditions, and I am calling for an independent inquiry into the welfare of workers at these factories," Ruth said.
“I am also informed that cane milled here in Kisumu county is being recorded, and taxed, in Kericho county – revenue that should belong to the people of this county. And I have not forgotten Koguta, where land that belongs to our community by court order remains a flashpoint between the company and the people who live there.”
At Chemelil Sugar Company itself, the scion of the Odinga family says, the picture is just as troubling as workers have told them of salary cuts of up to 60 per cent.
“Farmers allege that weighbridges have been adjusted against them, so that their cane is recorded as lighter than it truly is. The mill is reportedly crushing a fraction of its installed capacity. None of this builds the prosperous sugar belt we were promised when these millers were leased out.”
She also claimed being aware of serious and troubling allegations surrounding Miwani Sugar Company and the circumstances under which it was awarded to Crossley Holdings, including questions over the company's assets, its workforce and its conduct towards the surrounding community.
“These are matters I take very seriously. However, because they involve a live and highly sensitive ownership dispute, I will not go into the details today. I will issue a separate statement on the Crossley Holdings controversy at a later date.”
The ODM MP is now calling for an urgent meeting between the lessees, the workers, the farmers, the parents and the leadership of this region, to be convened without further delay.
She also wants Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture to come to the table and address the grey areas and unanswered questions around the leasing of our state-owned sugar millers.
“The Transition Committee, whose tenure has now been extended to June 2027, must audit staffing levels against its own retention guidelines, and account publicly for the terminal benefits still owed to our former workers,” Ruth stated.
