Transport along the busy Webuye–Malaba highway was brought to a standstill on Tuesday as hundreds of Nzoia Sugar Factory employees took to the streets, protesting the government’s decision to lease the factory to a new investor.
The demonstrators, waving placards and chanting anti-government slogans, barricaded the road and lit bonfires, causing major disruptions and drawing national attention to their plight.
The employees, who marched over five kilometers from the factory premises to the highway, voiced deep frustration over unpaid salaries and fears of job insecurity. Their primary demand was the immediate settlement of 28 months’ salary arrears, which have accumulated to a staggering KSh 2.3 billion.
“We have families to feed, children in school, and loans to pay. How can the government think of leasing the factory without paying us our dues first?” lamented one protestor, visibly emotional while holding a placard that read “No Pay, No Lease!”
Another protestor, a mother of three who has worked at the factory for over two decades, decried the move as a betrayal of workers’ rights.
“We are not against investment, but not at the cost of our livelihoods. Job security must be guaranteed before any leasing happens.”
The protest quickly escalated, forcing businesses along the route to shut down and vehicles to divert to alternative roads. The intensity of the demonstration prompted the deployment of anti-riot police, who had a difficult time clearing the highway and restoring normal traffic flow. Despite the tension, no major injuries were reported by the end of the standoff.
The unrest comes just a week after President William Ruto’s Labour Day address, during which he announced the government’s intention to lease four sugar mills including Nzoia Sugar in a bid to revitalize the struggling sector.
The president stated that the move was necessary to inject new capital and management expertise into the ailing mills, which have faced years of mismanagement and financial woes.
However, workers at Nzoia Sugar have interpreted the plan as a move that disregards their rights and longstanding service. Union leaders say the decision was made without proper consultation and is a violation of labor laws.
“Before the government leases any state-owned company, it must settle outstanding salaries and engage workers and unions in structured dialogue. We will not be silenced or sidelined,” said a local union official during the protest.
Critics of the leasing plan argue that past privatization efforts in Kenya’s sugar industry have often led to mass layoffs, delayed payments to farmers, and deteriorating working conditions. The Nzoia workers fear a similar fate if the leasing is rushed without protective measures for employees.
Government officials, on their part, have promised consultations but have yet to provide a timeline or strategy for addressing the salary arrears. Calls and messages to the Ministry of Agriculture seeking comment went unanswered by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, sugarcane farmers in the region have also expressed solidarity with the workers, stating that their livelihoods are at stake if the factory is leased without addressing the deeper systemic issues facing the sector.
The Tuesday protest underscores the rising tension between government plans to restructure the sugar industry and the expectations of workers and farmers who rely on the sector for their survival. For the employees of Nzoia Sugar Factory, the message is clear: without pay and job assurances, there will be no peace.
