Chemelil farmers have petitioned the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters to investigate alleged fraud at the factory’s weighbridge.
They cited that the local weights and measurements team have been compromised and should also be investigated.
The farmers claim that suspicious weight losses began barely months after Kibos Sugar took over operations at Chemelil Sugar Factory under a government leasing arrangement.
They allege that officers from the Department of Weights and Measures, who are mandated to independently verify weighbridge accuracy, have been compromised, leaving growers exposed to exploitation through manipulated or faulty equipment.
Speaking to journalists in Chemelil, the farmers said cane deliveries that previously attracted higher tonnage are now consistently recording lower weights, resulting in reduced earnings and growing mistrust between growers and the new investor.
They insist that the discrepancies cannot be explained by changes in farming practices, crop quality, or weather patterns.
“We are crying foul as farmers,”
said Chrisantus Ochiewo, a cane grower from Chemelil.
“The weighbridges must be checked. We want the EACC from headquarters to investigate because what we are seeing does not add up. We are losing a lot of money and nobody seems to be listening.”
Ochiewo said that before the leasing arrangement, farmers trusted the weighing system at Chemelil Sugar Factory, which they described as transparent and consistent. According to him, the same farms are now producing lower recorded weights despite no major changes in husbandry or harvesting methods.
“Our cane has not changed. The soil is the same, the seed cane is the same, and the farmers are the same,”
he said.
“The only thing that has changed is the weighbridge.”
His concerns were echoed by 67-year-old farmer Aska Orwa, who has supplied cane to Chemelil Sugar Factory for over two decades. Orwa said the reduced tonnage is economically devastating to farmers who rely on cane proceeds to meet basic needs.
“Previously, my cane would weigh about eight tonnes from the same plot. Now, after Kibos took over, the same cane is weighing about 5.5 tonnes,”
Orwa said.
“That difference translates into thousands of shillings lost per delivery.”
Several other farmers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the problem is widespread across the Chemelil zone. They claimed that complaints lodged with factory officials and regulatory officers have yielded little response, reinforcing suspicions that oversight systems have been compromised.
However, Kibos Sugar Managing Director Raju Chatte dismissed the allegations, terming them manufactured and driven by cartels that previously benefited from theft at the factory through dubious equipment. Chatte said Kibos had put in place strict controls to seal revenue leakages and would not tolerate manipulation of weighing systems.
“These claims are not genuine,”
Chatte said in response.
“They are being pushed by cartels that used to steal from the company using questionable equipment. Our weighbridges are calibrated, transparent, and operate within the law.”
Chemelil Sugar Factory, once a state-owned miller, was leased to Kibos Sugar Factory as part of the government’s broader plan to revive struggling public sugar mills through private sector participation. While the move was initially welcomed by farmers hopeful of efficiency and timely payments, the weighbridge dispute now threatens to strain relations.
Agricultural analysts warn that unresolved disputes over weighing and payments could erode farmer confidence, reduce cane supply, and destabilise the local sugar economy.
For now, farmers in Chemelil say they will continue pushing for an independent audit by the EACC and credible regulators, insisting that fair and transparent weighing is not a favour but a right.
