Jaswant Rai, a key figure in Kenya’s sugar industry, has secured a 30-year lease to run the struggling Nzoia Sugar Factory, under an agreement that promises to clear over Sh200 million owed to farmers before the close of the financial year.
Board chairman Alfred Khang’ati confirmed that Rai is expected to assume full control of the miller within the coming week.
All current employees will stay on for at least a year, as part of the conditions set out in the lease.
The move, however, has stirred legal disputes and raised eyebrows among politicians and stakeholders, who are questioning how transparent the leasing process was.
Concerns have also been voiced about Rai’s growing footprint in the sugar market, as his companies — West Kenya Sugar, Sukari Industries, and Olepito — already hold a significant share, leaving little room for other investors.
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Nzoia Sugar, which has been in operation since 1975, is 98 per cent owned by the Kenyan government.
It manages a 3,600-hectare cane estate and oversees an additional 23,500 hectares of outgrower farms.
According to the 2021 audit by the Office of the Auditor-General, Fives Cail holds 1.13 per cent of the company, while the Industrial Development Bank owns 0.93 per cent.
Rai’s business interests go well beyond sugar, stretching into sectors such as edible oils (Menengai Oil), timber (Timsales, RaiPly), real estate (Tulip Properties), and manufacturing (Webuye PanPaper).
This lease forms part of the government’s broader effort to privatise underperforming state-owned enterprises, hoping to inject private sector efficiency and investment into sectors like agriculture and manufacturing.
Although the privatisation drive has faced delays, the Nzoia deal is now seen as a critical test of whether these reforms can deliver results.
