President William Ruto has ordered an urgent review of debts accumulated by tea factories in Bomet County before the government commits public funds to rescue the struggling processors.
Speaking in Boito during a Bomet development tour on Friday, September 11, 2026, Ruto said the audit would separate genuine liabilities from loans obtained through questionable or fraudulent arrangements, insisting that taxpayers should not be made to shoulder debts that cannot be verified.
The President instructed Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh to commence the exercise immediately and present his findings within one month.
“PS, start the audit immediately. I want to know the situation within the next one month so that I can decide what to do,” Ruto said.
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The directive came after host, Konoin MP Brighton Yegon, asked the President to intervene in the financial difficulties affecting tea factories in the region.
Yegon told the President that tea farmers in the region had been affected by the large debts accumulated by some factories.
He cited Kapset Tea Factory, which he said had a loan of Ksh1.7 billion, and Mogogosiek Tea Factory, whose debt he placed at Ksh2 billion.
“Tunaomba, Your Excellency, usaidie hawa wakulima wa majani chai, wameumia sana,” Yegon pleaded.
The MP said the debts were affecting factory operations and limiting the benefits farmers receive from their tea production.
Ruto promises help for verified debts
Ruto acknowledged that some tea factories are carrying substantial debts but said government assistance would depend on the outcome of the audit.
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He said factories found to have legitimate debts could receive government support, including grants aimed at reducing their financial burden.
“If we establish that the debt is genuine, I will help you with a government grant to reduce part of that debt,” the President said.
Ruto, however, drew a line between legitimate debts and liabilities arising from questionable transactions.
“I cannot pay a debt that someone took improperly,” he said.
The President said the government had encountered a similar problem while addressing financial challenges in the sugar sector, where some institutions had accumulated huge liabilities whose legitimacy had to be established before state intervention.
He said the tea sector audit would therefore provide the basis for determining which debts qualify for government assistance.
