Chaos at Kaptola Coffee Factory: Land Dispute Leaves 3,000 Farmers in Limbo

BY DAPHINE JUMAH

Property worth approximately six million Kenyan shillings has been severely damaged at the Kaptola Coffee Factory in the Kimilili constituency of Bungoma County. This extensive destruction includes the uprooting of young coffee trees that had been planted across approximately three acres of land owned by the cooperative factory.

According to reports from the factory’s management, the incident was triggered by a sudden land ownership dispute between a local resident and the cooperative society. The animosity, which reportedly escalated recently, has resulted in massive infrastructure and crop damage that was a major economic mainstay for the local community.

In addition to the destruction of the coffee crops, a vital solar drying plant used by the factory to process coffee beans was also vandalized by unknown individuals. The attacks are suspected to have been carried out under the cover of darkness, with the perpetrators raiding the facility at night to steal various properties and assets belonging to the cooperative society before fleeing.

Following the extensive damage, all coffee production activities at the Kaptola factory have been completely suspended for the time being. The main offices have been locked down, meaning that essential services to the farmers have ground to a halt indefinitely amid mounting security concerns.The factory’s management expressed deep disappointment over the incident, claiming that the piece of land has been under the cooperative’s use for many years without any controversy. They noted that the individual claiming ownership only emerged recently and began uprooting the young coffee trees that had been planted to replace the older ones.

This state of uncertainty has sparked widespread anxiety among local coffee farmers who depend entirely on the factory to sustain their livelihoods. Reports indicate that the facility serves more than 3,000 farmers in Kimilili ,who have now been left stranded with nowhere to deliver their produce.Some of the aggrieved farmers spoke passionately about their issues, lamenting that their hard work for the season has gone down the drain due to selfishness and land disputes. They pointed out that the closure of the offices and the destruction of the drying units will lead to further financial ruin if immediate action is not taken to remedy the situation.

Residents also voiced their fears regarding security, stating that the confrontation could have resulted in a tragic outcome had they chosen to physically clash with the claimant. One of the factory officials noted that if they had not managed to restrain the angry community members, lives could have easily been lost at the facility.Given the gravity of the situation, the factory’s leadership and the affected farmers have issued an urgent appeal to both the Bungoma county government and the national government. They are calling upon security agencies and the ministry of lands to intervene immediately to resolve the ownership dispute and apprehend everyone involved in the destruction.

As investigations are expected to commence, the farmers maintain that they hold the legal right to the land and will not stand by to watch their cooperative property be seized. For now, a tense calm hangs over the Kaptola Coffee Factory as the community awaits decisive action from state authorities to protect their vital coffee sector