- Kirinyaga coffee farmers have blocked Karatina-Sagana highway in a bid to express their distress of poor payments
- There are burning tyres along the highway which has led to transport being paralyzed
Kirinyaga coffee farmers blocked the Karatina-Sagana highway to protest against poor payments.
In a video seen by the Star, the farmers can be heard shouting to voice their concerns.
"We want an increase in coffee payments. We are ready to engage with the leaders and raise our concerns with them," they said.
The farmers burned tyres along the highway, causing transport paralysis.
Police have been deployed to control the situation.
This comes after President William Ruto on May 27, said coffee farmers are set to get a Sh6 billion waiver in debt from the government as part of the broader scheme to revamp the crop’s farming in the country.
President Ruto told Kenyans living in the United States during his state visit, that he would lead the Cabinet (which has since been disbanded) in approving the debt write-off to encourage farmers and make the enterprise successful.
He said the initiative will inject energy into the struggling sector and boost the livelihoods of over 600,000 farmers.