A Betrayal of the People: Leasing Nzoia Sugar Company to Rai is a Grave Mistake

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The leasing of Nzoia Sugar Company Ltd, a critical public asset in Bungoma County, Western Kenya, to Rai Group for over 30 years marks yet another painful chapter in the systematic economic sabotage of Western Kenya by both the state and complicit local leadership. This decision, framed as part of a national sugar sector revitalization plan, is neither revitalizing nor reformative — it is a death sentence to a company that for decades sustained thousands of families, supported public schools, maintained a sports stadium for Nzoia Sugar FC, and powered nuclear farms in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties.

This move comes with echoes of betrayal from the past. Kenyans in the region vividly remember how Pan Paper Mills in Webuye — once the industrial heartbeat of Western Kenya — was handed over to the same Rai family under the guise of revival. More than a decade later, the mill remains a shadow of its former self. The promises of jobs, economic rejuvenation, and industrial revival have been replaced with silence, rusting equipment, and empty hopes. Now, the same buyer is being entrusted with Nzoia Sugar, an institution that for many symbolizes the pulse of Bungoma County.

History Repeats Itself: Rai’s Ghost Over Pan Paper

Rai’s acquisition of Pan Paper in 2016 was made with much fanfare and optimism. Senior political figures from Western Kenya were in office at the time — some of them part of the executive — yet they watched silently as the factory was stripped of its value under the guise of privatization. What followed was not investment but abandonment. The factory’s revival became an elusive dream. The economic life of Webuye town collapsed, and many residents migrated, while those who remained were condemned to economic stagnation.

Now history is being repeated, and the silence is deafening. The lease of Nzoia Sugar is happening under eerily similar circumstances: influential Western leaders are in power, yet once again, they are mum, nodding silently to the auctioning of their region’s economic lifeline.

Where Are the Western Leaders?

At the forefront of this crisis, only a handful of leaders have shown clarity and courage in rejecting this exploitative deal. Hon. Jack Wamboka of Bumula Constituency and Hon. Majimbo Kalasinga of Kabuchai have stood firm, questioning the logic of giving away yet another public asset to an investor whose track record is not only questionable but outright disappointing.

Where are the other leaders from Western Kenya? Why are they not rallying behind their people? The members of county Assembly of Bungoma and other MPs and Senators from the region must be held accountable. Is it that they fear to lose favor with the central government or have they joined the bandwagon of betrayal for political expediency?

This silence from the region's leadership is in stark contrast to the courage displayed by Hon. Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o and Hon. James Orengo from Nyanza. These leaders have publicly opposed the leasing of Chemelil and Muhoroni Sugar Companies, understanding that such decisions strip communities of their economic rights and transfer public wealth to private hands under questionable terms. Are Nyong’o and Orengo fools, as some might crudely frame it? Or are they simply leaders with a backbone and clarity about the implications of mortgaging public assets?

Nzoia Sugar: More Than Just a Factory

Nzoia Sugar Company is not just a sugar mill. It is a legacy institution with direct ties to the social and economic development of Bungoma and neighboring counties. The company has supported dozens of public schools, nurtured the talents of hundreds of young people through its sponsorship of Nzoia Sugar Football Club, and maintained large-scale nucleus farms that sustained cane production and food security for decades.

This lease effectively transfers all these associated public interests — schools, stadium, and agricultural land — into private hands. Who then will account for these assets? What happens when the investor decides they are not profitable? Are we to lose not just a company but the future of our youth and farmers?

Moreover, there has been no clear framework presented to the public on how this leasing process will be monitored, what benchmarks the lessee must meet, and what consequences await if they fail to perform. If Pan Paper is anything to go by, it is clear that accountability is not on the agenda.

A Political Arrangement Disguised as Investment

What is happening is not privatization but plunder. It is a political arrangement designed to benefit a few politically connected individuals at the expense of an entire region. The fact that Rai Group has monopolized large portions of Kenya’s sugar industry — Mumias, Kabras, and now Nzoia — should raise alarms across the country. This is not economic diversification; it is economic capture.

We must ask: why does one person or one family control so much of Kenya’s sugar sector? Why are the laws of fair competition and anti-monopoly not being enforced? If Rai failed to revive Pan Paper, what makes government officials believe he will succeed with Nzoia Sugar?

This is not about investment. This is about political reward. The people of Western Kenya are once again being used as pawns in a high-stakes political chess game. Their factories are being handed out as tokens of loyalty. Their silence is being bought with temporary peace and empty promises.

The Cost of Silence

The time to speak is now. Western Kenya cannot afford another decade of economic decay. It cannot afford to lose yet another institution that provided livelihoods to thousands. The loss of Nzoia Sugar will not only affect the employees of the factory but also hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers, vendors, transporters, and community service providers who depend on the ecosystem the factory has created over decades.

If this lease is allowed to proceed unchecked, it will open the floodgates for further privatization of other public assets in the region. Already, there are whispers about similar plans for other public utilities and lands. The people must rise, and their leaders must lead.

A Call to Action

Hon. Jack Wamboka and Hon. Majimbo Kalasinga have shown what principled leadership looks like. They have challenged the status quo, questioned the credibility of the lessee, and reminded Kenyans of the Pan Paper failure. Their example must be followed.

It is time for all Western Kenya leaders — Members of Parliament, Governors, Senators, MCAs, and professionals — to convene a public consultative forum. This forum must reject the Rai lease and explore alternative models of reviving Nzoia Sugar, including public-private partnerships with accountability clauses, community ownership models, and revival through cooperatives.

Let the region borrow a page from Nyanza’s leadership. Let Western Kenya refuse to be sold for cheap. Let its people demand that their assets be respected, their voices heard, and their future protected.

The people of Bungoma — and Western Kenya at large — have suffered enough. They cannot afford to be betrayed again. Nzoia Sugar is not just a factory. It is the soul of a region. And that soul must not be sold.

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