Cooperatives protest Lipton tea estates sale to Sri Lankan firm

At least ten cooperative societies in South Rift region have questioned the sale of Lipton tea estate to Sri Lanka's Browns Investment Plc, claiming the deal was skewed.

Lawyer Kenneth Langat, representing Sinendet consortium with more than 7,000 members, said they will move to court to seek legal redress over the sale.

Langat claimed that Lipton disregarded its responsibilities sourcing policy, which pledges to protect and promote the land rights of the communities, including indigenous people.

He revealed that he has received instructions from members of the ten cooperative societies to pursue the matter through the courts, Competition Authority and the United Nations Human Rights Council.

"The policy clearly states that the company will respect the rights and title to property and land of individuals, indigenous people and local communities," he said.

"It further stated that all negotiations with regard to their property or land, including the use of and transfers of it adhere to the principles of free, prior, and informed consent, contract transparency, and disclosure," he added. 

However, the lawyer told The Standard that the deal between Lipton Teas and Browns announced at State House, Nairobi, was a top-down approach, labeling the 15 per cent allocation of the tea estate to local cooperatives as tokenism.

"We had put 100 per cent acquisition bid and were ready to match the bid of the highest bidder, but it's unfortunate that the government, which was elected on the platform of bottom up approach, didn't fight for the consortium. We were excluded and ignored," he said.

Langat argued that the deal between Lipton teas and Browns Investment Plc is part of the historical injustices perpetrated by multinational tea firms against native landowners.

"The deal deprives economic opportunities for the people at the bottom, yet the land in question is the ancestral land for members of the Kipsigis community living in Kericho and Bomet counties," he said.

There are 11 plantations and eight leaf processing factories in Kericho, Bomet and Limuru under Lipton Teas.

The Sinendet Consortium lawyer argued that the Kenya Kwanza government should have intervened to resolve the historical land injustices by ensuring that Lipton teas sell the entire estate to local investors.

"Our cooperatives had the money and we also have local professionals to manage the tea estate and other assets," said Langat.

The lawyer said that with the deal done, a significant portion of the tea exports will be in the hands of Sri Lankan investors, neglecting Kenya's national interests.

"Our national interests have been disregarded," said Langat.

The sale of Lipton teas to Browns Investment Plc would make Browns one of the leading tea exporters globally, with about 87 million kilograms annually, and the largest supplier to Lipton Teas and Infusions.

While the terms of the agreement remain guarded pending regulatory approvals, both companies have affirmed their commitment to upholding human rights and environmental protection in their operations.

In a joint statement, the companies stated that "Lipton Teas and Infusions has agreed to terms of partnership that will result in the transfer of its tea estates in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania to Browns Investments, alongside an agreement that all teas sold by Browns worldwide will adhere to a new set of standards covering quality, social, and environmental protections."