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Scores Hurt in Tea Farmers' Clash With Police
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 22 July 2007 22:19
The Gucha District tea farmers, whose street protests continued for the second day yesterday, barricaded the Kisii-Kilgoris road and engaged riot police in running battles.
The demonstrators are demanding the removal of the Zone 11 manager, Mr Samuel Osoro, and Ogembo tea directors. The zone covers Ogembo, Nyamache and Kiamokama areas.
Police shot several times in the air and lobbed tear gas canisters at the crowd, forcing the protesters - many of them armed with clubs and stones - to run to safety. Scores were injured after being trampled on by their fleeing colleagues.
The enraged farmers regrouped at different points and started flushing out drivers and clerks from vehicles ferrying tea to factories.
Some protesters emptied tea leaves from the lorries into their bags. Several lorries carrying the leaf were diverted to Nyamache tea factory, some 20 kilometres away.
Gucha acting police boss Richard Kamitu sent a combined force of regular and administration police to Tendere and Ogembo tea factories, the flashpoints of the clash.
The security personnel arrived just as the farmers were preparing to burn some company vehicles.
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Mr Kamitu told journalists that police had launched investigations into the protests and the hunt was on for inciters.
Ogembo tea factory manager Benjamin Kwambai said normal operations at the plant were continuing as there was enough stock of green leaves to be processed.
Some farmers criticised the destruction of factory assets, saying they would eventually bear the cost.
