Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Limited has strongly opposed a planned residential project by Safaricom Investment Cooperative Society in Miwani, Kisumu County, insisting the area must remain an agricultural zone.
Group Corporate Affairs Manager Joyce Opondo told the press on Tuesday that the land has been reserved for sugarcane production for more than a century, warning that converting it into residential use would cripple the local sugar industry.
“This project will deprive us of vital raw materials for our factories where most of our youth are employed,” Opondo said. “We want agricultural zones to remain agricultural zones. Any non-agricultural project will undermine livelihoods and pose environmental risks.”
Backing the miller’s position, Caleb Ochieng of the Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers accused Safaricom of sidelining farmers and stakeholders in public participation forums. He said farmers had unanimously rejected the project.
“We have spoken with the farmers, and we reject this project in totality,” Ochieng stated. “This land will only be used for sugarcane activities, and we will not allow any other non-agricultural activity.”
Residents also voiced their objections. Zedekiah Odhiambo from Miwani, Muhoroni Sub-County, faulted Safaricom Investment Cooperative for failing to follow due process in advertising the project and engaging the community.
“We are telling them to follow the proper procedures, but even then, we want this place to remain agricultural land,” Odhiambo said. “There was no adequate notice, no posters, and no proper public participation. Farmers were not involved.”
The objections now place the proposed Safaricom residential investment in jeopardy, with stakeholders in the sugar belt vowing to resist any attempt to convert the land from agricultural to residential use.
