Sucre Ethique - Kenya : Shitanda Protests Cane Farmers Harassment

lundi 9 mai 2011

HOUSING Minister Soita Shitanda has protested harassment of cane farmers by APs in Western province. Shitanda said he will seek audience with Internal Security minister George Saitoti over what he termed misuse of the APs by miller "In case a farmer harvests sugarcane developed by a certain miller and sells it to a different miller, the aggrieved miller should seek redress in court through a civil procedure and not using police to harass the farmer," said Shitanda.

The Malava MP said cane farmers should be allowed to freely sell their crop to the highest bidder since Kenya was a liberalized economy. He said police had no role in handling civil conflicts adding that the Government should take disciplinary measurers against officers found to flout the law.

Shitanda said the law does not recognize the zoning and millers should not hide their ineffectiveness in protecting areas they called their zones "I have talked to the local administrators and I am going to tell the minister to tell his men to leave farmers alone," said Shitanda.

Shitanda’s concerns comes at a time when West Kenya Management complained that rival Nzoia Sugar Company was using APs stationed there to harass the firm’s newly contracted farmers in Bungoma East district under the pretext they were poaching its cane.

Western Provincial Commissioner Samuel Kilele said last week that the Government was investigating alleged harassment of farmers by the APs saying it was not Government policy to harass but protect farmers

Yesterday, Shitanda said that cane farmers had suffered too much loses and the Government should assist them recoup the little from their hard work by allowing them to sell their crop to the highest bidder in the market.