The busy Webuye-Malaba highway experienced a standstill as hundreds of Nzoia Sugar Company employees blocked the road with burning fires. Their protest stemmed from the proposed leasing of the company to a new investor, with the employees denouncing the terms as unacceptable.
Wielding placards and chanting anti-government slogans, the workers marched five kilometers from the factory to the highway. Their primary demand was the payment of their outstanding salaries, which have accumulated to 2.3 billion Shillings over a period of up to twenty-eight months.
Benjamin Agunda, the deputy secretary of the workers’ union, accused the government of violating labor laws. He also insisted on job security guarantees for the employees before any lease agreement with a new investor is finalized.
Anti-riot police faced considerable difficulty in clearing the blocked road and dispersing the demonstrating workers.
Jaclyne Nasimiyu, one of the protesting employees, expressed the long-standing commitment of the workforce to the company. She described the investor’s proposed takeover terms as demeaning and asserted that they would continue protesting until their demands were met.
The employees vowed to persist with their demonstrations, with some expressing astonishment upon learning the identity of the new investor, particularly after President William Ruto had declared firm action against anyone intending to undermine sugarcane farmers.
