Kirinyaga coffee farmers protest after court extends orders on proposed direct pay

Coffee farmers from 76 factories in Kirinyaga County held protests in Kerugoya town after the High Court extended a conservatory order halting the implementation of new coffee exchange fees.

Kerugoya High Court Judge Edward Muriithi on Thursday extended the order to July 28, 2025, after the Co-operative Bank of Kenya applied to join the case.

Following the ruling, the farmers from the 76 factories gathered in and outside the Kerugoya High Court, and after the conservatory order was extended, they stormed the streets of Kerugoya singing anti-government songs.

The farmers urged the government to abandon the proposed plan, saying it seeks to weaken their cooperative society and will disadvantage smallholder farmers.

They also accused their local elected leaders of not doing enough to help them solve their problems.

Later in the day, they marched through the streets and later took their grievances to the county commissioner’s office, where they were addressed by the Kirinyaga Central Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner, Josephine Mwengi, who received their concerns and asked them to disperse peacefully.

The order was first filed on February 19, 2025, by Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company and Kirinyaga County Co-operative Union, where they applied for a conservatory order to stay the implementation of the impugned Capital Market (Coffee Exchange) (Fees) Regulations.

It blocks the Capital Markets Authority and the Competition Authority of Kenya from enforcing the 2024 regulations.