Chege Kirundi elected KTDA board chairman

The Board of Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) Holding on Thursday elected Chege Kirundi as its new national chairman.

Kirundi replaces Enos Njeru who was holding the position, while Eric Chepkwony retains his position as the vice chairman.

Kirundi is the board member for Zone Three in Murang’a County and has spearheaded the tea reforms in the country, which saw the enactment of the Tea Act 2020.

He holds a law degree from the University of Nairobi and Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.

He is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a qualified Notary Public, a certified Public Secretary (CPS), a Commissioner of Oaths and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIP). He is also a professional mediator.

He has served as a State Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers and is currently a private legal practitioner with Kirundi & Company Advocates.

He is a member of several distinguished institutions in Kenya, among them the Law Society of Kenya. He is also the chairman of Kiru Tea Factory Company PLC.

KTDA is a private company owned by about 600,000 smallholder tea farmers spread across 16 tea-growing counties in Kenya. The farmers are shareholders in 54 tea companies that own KTDA (H) and its 9 subsidiary companies.

Some of the 54 tea factory companies have expanded by setting up satellite factories in their neighborhoods to accommodate the extra leaf. The satellite factories are 17, adding up to 71, the total number of tea factories owned by smallholder tea farmers.

The nine subsidiary companies owned by KTDA (H) add value to the tea value chain.

These companies include Chai Trading Company Limited, KTDA (Management Services), Majani Insurance Brokers, Kenya Tea Packers Limited, Greenland Fedha Limited, KTDA Foundation, Tea Machinery and Engineering Company Ltd, KTDA Power Company Limited, KTDA (MS) and Chai Logistics Centre.

In 1964, the Kenya Tea Development Authority was established under the Agriculture Act (Cap 318) Section 91, Legal Notice No. 42, replacing the Special Crops Development Authority. The Authority took over management of smallholder tea from multinational tea companies.