Munya sucked into age-old KFA feuds – Weekly Citizen

Cabinet secretary in charge of the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Peter Munya and an advocate of the High Court by profession seems to preach water but drink wine after disobeying a court order restricting him from interfering with Kenya Farmers Association Cooperative Union until the case is heard.

Munya who is now facing court contempt was taken to court after he introduced the new caretaker board to the Kenya Farmers Association few months ago without following the law.

Recently, the Kapenguria High Court judge RN Sitati issued an order on October 17 2019 that restricted Munya’s appointments that were brought on board after the CS kicked out the old board without consultation, until the case is heard.

The new four-caretaker board was injected by force and unlawfully to the KFA with a hidden agenda on September 24 2019.

KFA wants the dissolution of the new board and be allowed to pick and not politicians to select individuals who are connected to them politically.

Munya an advocate of the High Court who at one time was a lecturer at Moi University is a giving bad picture of the government and to his students at Moi, upcoming lawyers and other lawyers across the country for weighing down the judiciary’s power. Farmers said Munya is not fit to hold any public office for disobeying the judiciary.

He told the state counsel that he is the CS and the government so the judiciary will do nothing to him. Following this bragging, he has allowed the operation of the new board members which is against the order issued.

A one Mike Mwalati is preparing to move to court and challenge his suitability to hold the public office. “I have instructed my lawyer to check if I can challenge his suitability to hold public office after disobeying the court order so that he can step down under chapter six of the constitution and allow other person to take over his roles as the CS we have many people who are learned to take over the position,’’ he said.

Munya

The court contempt attracts six-month jail. Kenya Farmers Association boosts farmers with loans and farm inputs. On July 20 2019 Kenyatta ordered the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to help KFA including Kenya Planters Cooperative Union that is under his Big Four Agenda and not to interfere with them but to help the cooperative revive so that farmers can depend on themselves. Members of KFA said they accept the directive but should be within the law.

There are 67 Kenya Farmers Association Cooperatives across the country while 33 are operating below the capacity.

This is not the first time for the KFA to stop the government from interference. In 1996 the government was stopped by the Nakuru High Court from installing the caretaker board in KFA the task that should be performed by KFA members themselves to bring on board new directors with regional balance. They want the government to carry out its oversight role within the law and not to interfere with the cooperatives with a hidden agenda.

The intention of KFA moving to court in 1996 was after the government failed to pay huge loans from the banks due to poor governance by the government itself. Banks were to auction KFA properties and instead farmers intervened and sold off some of the properties to pay off the amount that was being demanded by the banks.

International trade at the time was affected owing to poor leadership that was caused by the government itself. This is the time they decided to move to court and stopped government from interfering with the management.

In 2003, the former minister of Cooperatives and Development under Mwai Kibaki’s government, Peter Ndwiga and former MP Manyatta constituency came in with the same idea to bring in caretaker board like what Munya has done but the government was stopped again by the court for the second time after KFA ran to court.

The case restricting CS Munya from interfering with KFA will come up for pre-trial direction on Tuesday, November 14 2019 at Kapenguria High Court.