President Uhuru Kenyatta has reconstituted the board of Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU), once the country’s coffee miller and warehouseman. The new board was appointed to run the affairs in a Cabinet meeting held on December 19th, 2019.
Henry Gichui Kinyua takes over as the new chairman and is to oversee the rebranding process of the farmers union which collapsed due to mismanagement.
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 (1) (a) of the State Corporation Act, I, Uhuru Kenyatta, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint Henry Gichui Kinyua to be the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union, for a period of one (1) year, with effect from the 18th December 2019.
Gazette notice
Trouble for KPCU has survived both the Moi and Kibaki administrations, with each one grappling with financial and management problems at the Union.
The Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Co-operatives Mr Peter G. Kinyua has also appointed 7 other members to this fresh board at New KPCU, also for a period of one year with effect from 18th December, 2019.
They are Joyce Muthoni Wangari, Simeon Thuranira Atheru, Sabastian Maina Wambugu, Antony Nzau Musau, Michael Mwirigi Mungai, Josephine Kemunto Omwenga and Rita Viola Mukami Mukundi.
It is still unclear how far the liquidators of the defunct KPCU have gone in terms of concluding the sale process.
In a liquidation order, Acting Commissioner for Co-operatives Development G.N. Njang’ombe appointed Stephen Kamau Njoroge, the Assistant Director of Co-operatives Audit, Doris Wangui Githua Principal State Counsel, Antony Maina Waithaka, Principal Co-operative Auditor in Murang’a County and Joyce Nkirote Kimuu, Senior State Counsel, to be joint liquidators for a period not exceeding six months.
The order for deregistration and liquidation of this old coffee milling and warehousing monolith is contained in a Gazette Notice No. 7963, dated 2nd August 2019 and signed by the Commissioner for Co-operative Development.
The liquidation team at Wakulima House is authorised to take into their custody all the properties of KPCU including books and documents that are deemed necessary for completion of the liquidation process.
KPCU is a wholly farmer-owned company, whose membership comprises over 750,000 small scale farmers represented through over 300 co-operatives and about 2,000 estate farmers owning small, medium and large-scale farms.
One incident that remains in memory about how powerful the board and executives at KPCU was during the time of Co-op and Industry Cabinet Minister Adan Mohammed .
At this time, one Patrick Musyimi was the Commissioner of Co-operative Development, suddenly resigned.
“One of the most challenging moments is trying to clean up the mess within the coffee co-operatives sector-which occurred between the 1980s and 1990S when the then registrar’s office issued certificates to splinter coffee unions,” said Musyimi.
The team occupying the leadership of the giant Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) had, according to Musyimi, no mandate from the farmers themselves.
There were fears that with the case between KPCU and KCB dragging on, these officials were busy stripping assets of KPCU and collecting rental income from the rented godowns and coffee mills, without the authority of coffee farmers.
Musyimi retired in the public interest after being accused of being behind the infighting among co-operatives in the coffee growing areas of Central Kenya. Politics surrounding coffee co-operative societies did not, however, spare Musyimi- like all his predecessors.
The fate of the old KPCU Board of Directors, led by William Muiruri Gatei, remains unknown after they were bundled out of their offices at Wakulima House by a team from the State Department for Co-operatives and DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations) officers.
Apart from KPCU, the other moribund outfit of yesteryears whose operations have been taken over by the state include Kenya Farmers Association, formerly Kenya Grain Growers Co-operative Union (KGGCU).