Former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has come out in support of West Kenya after National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale called for the company, among several others, to be probed over the contaminated sugar scandal.
On Tuesday, Duale tabled details of the quantities of sugar imported by the Rai family-owned West Kenya in 2017 as he accused the government of only going after proverbial 'small fish' in the war against counterfeit goods.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Thursday, Khalwale claimed that the push against West Kenya was driven by unscrupulous sugar barons who wanted the company to lose their millers' licence and, subsequently, their importation licence thereby allowing barons to dominate the market with imported sugar.
As Kenya produces less sugar than it consumes, millers are allowed to import the product specifically to meet the deficit.
Khalwale reiterated that he was only interested in defending the interests of sugarcane farmers from his area, asserting that the barons' goal was to cripple local factories.
[caption caption="Aden Duale"]
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"The sugar barons are in competition with local factories; because local millers are allowed to import sugar to fill the deficit. If they paralyzed local factories, the imported sugar would have a wider market and local millers would not be allowed to import," he elucidated.
Khalwale stated that had Duale been genuine with the exposé, he would have sought to have only West Kenya's sugar importation licence revoked and not the milling licence as well.
"I am strongly in support of West Kenya because my local farmers have a direct stake, if you bring it down you kill the livelihoods of 60,000 Kenyans," he declared.
When contacted by Kenyans.co.ke, however, Duale urged Khalwale to present the information he had to Parliament as the matter is already before two committees; the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee and the Agriculture Committee.
"The matter is before a committee of the house, let him provide the information," he wrote in a text message.
The outspoken 'bullfighter' led farmers in protests backing West Kenya company at Malava two days ago and vowed to intensify the protests if they were not heard.
Khalwale further stated that it should not be lost on Kenyans that those against West Kenya were allegedly building a financial war-chest ahead of the 2022 General Election.
[caption caption="Some of the 2,000 bags of contraband sugar and cooking oil seized by police at a warehouse in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on June 4, 2018. "]
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