The revocation marks another blow to Chebochok, though he was at the centre of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s undercover investigative feature
The Ministry of Agriculture has nullified the election of John Chebochok as the director of Toror Tea Factory.
Agriculture Principal Secretary (PS) Paul Rono, in a letter to the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) dated August 2, 2024, acknowledged the concerns raised by the stakeholders on the election of Chebochok following the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) elections.
“The Government has since addressed the issue and new directors have been sworn in thereby nullifying the election of Mr. Chebochok,” read the letter in part, though it did not name Chebochok’s replacement.Â
PS Paul Rono speaking during a two-day Workshop for the State Department of Agriculture on April 4, 2024. /PAUL RONO
“I trust that this suffices to enable restoration to normalcy in tea trading and especially the sale of teas from the affected factories.”
PS Rono directed EATTA to communicate the changes to its board and stakeholders in the sector.
“The Ministry wishes to assure the general public and all other tea buyers that we shall continue upholding to high standard of professionalism in the tea sector,” added the statement.
The revocation marks another blow to Chebochok, though he was at the centre of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s undercover investigative feature under the BBC Africa Eye segment in 2023 which exposed claims of widespread sexual abuse affecting tea farms in Kenya.
Chebochok and other managers were filmed by BBC’s Africa Eye and Panorama programmes in February 2023, exploiting female workers in exchange for contract extensions and better working conditions.
The programme included detailed testimonies of sexual exploitation by workers, as well as undercover footage implicating Chebochok as a key perpetrator.
On July 15, the High Court in Kericho suspended his swearing-in ceremony that was slated to be held during the factory’s Annual General Meeting pending the hearing of a petition filed against him.
Five individuals had argued that Chebochok’s approval as a director had posed a significant threat to the financial stability and reputation of Tegat Tea Factory Limited, which owns Toror Tea Factory.
The petitioners had moved to court and asserted that approving Chebochok during the Special General Meeting scheduled for July 18, 2024, posed a significant threat to the company.
Usikimye CBO, Wangu Kanja Foundation (K) Registered Trustee, Oxfam, The African Gender and Media 8Initiatative Trustees and Flonbe Initiative supported the petition and further argued that key stakeholders and purchasers of tea from the Applicants company protested the election of Chebochok and have since suspended their business with the Applicant, leading to a significant financial downturn.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Group Company Secretary in response supported the notice of motion arguing that Chebochok’s election did not only affect the sales of the factory he was elected to but had also affected the brand of the KTDA and all its smallholder factories, thereby putting at risk the economic livelihood of more than a million farmers who supply tea to KTDA factories.
Workers at a tea farm in Kenya. /VOA