Silas Nthiga
2 May 2008
Nairobi — A court has ordered a coffee miller to pay farmers in Embu over Sh84.5 million as compensation for coffee they delivered the factory nearly 10 years ago.
Embu resident judge Joyce Khaminwa ordered Thika Coffee Mills Company to pay the money to farmers affiliated to Mikiki Cooperative Society as compensation for 3,439 bags of parchment coffee and another 803 bags of dried berries (Mbuni) they delivered to the company for milling. After milling, the company was meant to submit the crop to the Coffee Board of Kenya for marketing.
The orders were issued after a protracted legal battle between the two, which started in 1999. The farmers had sued the miller through their cooperative society.
Through their lawyer, Mr Moris Njagi, the farmers had accused Thika Coffee Mills of failing to honour the agreement it had entered with them at the time of delivering the crop. The factory was meant to mill the coffee and then submit it to the Coffee Board of Kenya for marketing.
The board whose role has since changed to that of market regulator was then the sole marketer of all the coffee grown in the country.
Under the agreement, Thika Coffee Mills was also to advance the farmers with loans and farm inputs using the delivered coffee as security.
The farmers had sought orders compelling the miller to releases the coffee to the Coffee Board Kenya for marketing or return it to them.
Lady Justice Khaminwa said the farmers had a case against the miller. She ordered the firm to pay the farmers Sh77,588,005.30 for the crop they delivered for milling and a further Sh7,000,000 for damages. The miller was also ordered to pay accruing interest at court rates.
But the judge absolved the Coffee Board of Kenya from blame saying it was not liable for the losses incurred by the farmers since the crop had not been released to it by the miller.
There was jubilation among the farmers immediately after Lady Justice Khaminwa delivered her ruling.
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