Women in the tea sector have a long way to go in clinching leadership positions after winning only 19 out of 324 directorship positions in the recent factory elections.
In the elections for management of factories under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) held in late June after a directive by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), women appeared to have got the short end of the stick despite being major players in the smallholder sub-sector.
Curiously, many of the women who vied and even voters felt shortchanged by the unexpected change in the election date from June 28 to June 29, a Saturday when most of them go to church, merry-go-rounds, family gatherings or attend to household duties.
In the Western region, the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) followers failed to proceed to the ballot as the Saturday was dedicated to worship and religious activities, and they blamed the tea board for the change of election date.
Details from the TBK shows out of the 324 directors, only 19 women were elected in the 12 tea factories.
This will see women underrepresented in decision-making, despite providing 60 per cent of the labour in tea production and 40 per cent ownership of tea farms.
For instance, in the West of Rift, only three women - Chepkurui Korir, Judith Chepkurui and Odour Elizabeth - were elected directors at Tegat, Kapkatet and Kapsara tea factories respectively.
However, few women aspired for the directorship position in the election presided over by the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) following an out-of-court settlement brokered by the regulator to end the chaos that had reigned for three years.
In many factories, no women were cleared by the electoral body to run.
At the Kiru Tea Factory, there was no woman out of the 21 candidates cleared by IEBC to run for directorship.
At Kanyenya-ini factory, Mary Gitaka - who had served on the board- was voted out and replaced by Peter Gachuri after she garnered 51 votes against 201 votes.
Gitaka, while conceding defeat, said she would ensure the farmers' interests were protected.
“It was a good fight, but the change of election dates messed up my mobilisation ability,” she said.
At Makomboki Tea Factory, Faith Muthoni was reelected, and she attributed her success to close interaction with the farmers in the villages.
"In my first term, through support from friends, I ensured Kanderendu dispensary was operational through fundraising after it was initiated by the tea farmers,” said Muthoni.
At Nduti Tea Factory, Nancy Ndung'u, wife to the former Treasury CS Prof Njuguna Ndung'u, was re-elected unopposed.
She was elected to chair the factory board, deputised by the youthful Joseph Mahugu who was also re-elected.
Ndung’u said teamwork helped her entire board return to leadership.
“I was elected unopposed as farmers in my Gitaimbuka electoral area have faith and confidence in my leadership,” said the factory chairperson.
KTDA Zone Two board member James Githinji said the election of women in tea leadership in the East of the Rift region was indication that they are appreciated by the farmers.
“Those elected in 2020 expect a few to manage a comeback into the leadership slots,” he said.
In the East of Rift, TBK Director Charles Kirigwi said 15 women were elected in 10 factories out of 35.
“We are encouraging more women to contest the leadership positions."
Elizabeth Waithanji is chairperson of the board at Gitugi factory, adding to Ndungu's win at Nduti factory to make only two women in top seats in Mt Kenya region.
In Murang’a County, there are six women directors.
Ken Kaburi, a TBK director in the West of Rift Valley, said the gender imbalance in leadership in the tea sector is a national issue that cuts across all regions.
“It is fundamentally attributed to land, mainly owned by men, and tea shambas are also owned by men," he said.
"The trend is changing drastically, and in future, women will be registered with factories and therefore will endear them to leadership roles."
Ecabeth Nyakieni, a former director, said the election preparedness was a flop in Gusiiland as it was postponed unprocedurally and changed from Friday to Saturday, which blocked hundreds of farmers from exercising their rights.
Nyakieni, who represented Gianchore Tea Factory for three terms, said the election was stage-managed as most farmers never voted as they were in church.
“The IEBC messed up the tea election due to poor planning despite the months allocated for preparations,” she said, adding that most farmers went to their places of worship on Saturday.
Monica Orwochi, a director at Nyansiongo Tea Factory who was re-elected based on best prices, said closeness with the farmers assisted in the production of quality tea.
“I am the only woman KTDA director in Nyamira County and I feel proud of working with the farmers," she said.
"In the last term, we managed to take our farmers for a benchmarking programme at the Gacharage factory in Murang’a to enhance quality production.”
In the South Rift, men have predominantly held leadership positions as directors within the KTDA factories for decades.
However, women like Lorna Koech, the director of the Litein-Chelal Tea Factory, are making significant strides and breaking the glass ceiling.
Koech secured her second term as director of the factory in the Bureti constituency.
She emerged victorious against six competitors by garnering 954 votes, beating her closest challenger with 344.
Koech, who owns ten acres of tea, attributed her emphatic win to the notable increase in tea bonus payments during her first term.
She told The Standard that the bonus payment had risen from Sh9 to Sh31 over the past year under her leadership.
"When I first took office as a director, farmers were earning Sh18 as a monthly payment for the tea delivered to the factory, but it has now increased to Sh23."
She emphasised that the gender of factory directors is irrelevant as long as farmers benefit from improved tea farming practices and earnings.
"My track record convinced the farmers I was fit to get another term as a factory director," said Koech.
Looking ahead, she is determined to ensure the factory's investment in orthodox tea processing takes off.
"Orthodox tea fetches higher prices, and the market is still substantial. We want to exploit this opportunity and avoid the market problems we occasionally face with black CTC teas," she explained.
She added that the factory is committed to providing better services to farmers, such as supply of fertiliser, training in modern farming methods, introducing new and high-yielding tea varieties, seeking new markets, and enhancing agricultural extension services.
"I aim to ensure that the factory tea fetches higher prices in the market and to offer farmers comprehensive support to boost their productivity and earnings," she said.
