Nzoia Sugar MD Arrested Over Corruption Allegations

The Managing Director of Nzoia Sugar Company was arrested on Thursday over allegations of misappropriation of the company’s funds and is expected to be presented in court today (Friday).

Wanyonyi Godfrey was arrested by police officers and taken to the Ethics and Anti-Corrption Commission, EACC where he was grilled for hours before he was taken to Bungoma Police Station for further question.

It is alleged that Mr. Wanyonyi alongside six other senior financial managers took part in acquiring tens of millions of shillings from Nzoia Sugar Company through fraudulent means. The shaken Mr. Wanyonyi declined to comment on the matter saying that the EACC had not informed him anything concerning his arrest saying that he will learn about what he is being accused of in court on Friday.

Nzoia Sugar Company was once a giant in sugar production in the country but went underground in what has been termed as poor management as well as the misappropriation of funds by the top management. The company also has been at locker heads with its rival, Mumias Sugar Company where they have been in a constant row over allegations of sugarcane poaching.

The company, however, compared to its peers such as the ailing Mumias Sugar Company was doing better and farmers as well as the government was optimistic that the miller was on the right recovery path.

The sugar industry in Kenya has been down the path of turbulence with those on the receiving end being farmers who deliver their sugarcane but forced to wait for ages before receiving their payments. The industry has been accused of working with the cartels to milk Kenyans of their hard-earned money through hoarding of sugar and sometimes taking part in the illegal importation of cheap sugar and the sell it at high prices with the money going into individual pockets.

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