Over 3,000 factory employees and thousands of cane farmers have been left jobless after the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) shut down the Kibos Sugar Factory over pollution on Friday, March 6.
Those affected claim the recent closure of the factory is unlawful and instigated by business rivalry.
The environmental authority on Friday last week ordered the factory shut after an impromptu visit over reports that it was emitting waste into the environment.
Affected farmers have said that the closure has left them with over 4,000 tonnes of sugarcane wchich is set to go to waste. Tractors packed high with harvested sugarcane are currently grounded at the Kipsitet weighbridge at the risk of rotting
NEMA says Kibos Sugar Factory has been on their radar for the last two years about pollution of the environment after Residents of Kibos area complained and held demonstrations before, demanding the closure of the factory.
The farmers and the workers have demanded the lifting of the closure order, saying it had put several lives at stake. They have Carrying placards at the former Nyanza Provincial Headquarters which hosts County Governor, County Commissioner and County NEMA offices where they dropped petitions demanding for reopening of the factory.
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