Five tea factory clerks in Bureti Sub-County, Kericho County, have been arrested following allegations of tampering with weighing scales used to measure green tea delivered by farmers.
The arrests followed an unannounced inspection carried out by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), the Weights and Measures Department and other agencies after complaints from tea farmers over the accuracy of weighing machines at tea buying centres.
According to reports released on Thursday, the officials moved in without prior notice and inspected the weighing equipment used at the centres. The five clerks were subsequently taken into police custody after they were allegedly found involved in the irregularities.
The operation has once again brought attention to concerns over the manipulation of weighing scales in Kenya’s tea-growing areas, where farmers depend on accurate measurements to determine payment for their produce.
Previous inspections have uncovered similar cases. In 2023, the Tea Board of Kenya and the Department of Weights and Measures conducted surprise inspections at tea buying centres in Bomet County after complaints from farmers. Officials impounded faulty scales during the exercise.
In another operation in Githunguri, Kiambu County, officials found manipulated scales and reported that some farmers were losing part of their produce through inaccurate weighing.
Tea Board officials said at the time that cases involving manipulated weighing scales had been reported in more than 20 tea-growing counties.
The problem has also been acknowledged within the tea industry. In 2024, the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) said it had completed installing anti-tampering devices on greenleaf weighing scales across its 71 managed factories. The move followed concerns raised by farmers over tampered scales at buying centres.
A 2026 National Assembly debate also recorded reports of falsified weighing scales in tea-growing areas of the Western Rift Valley, including Kericho and Bomet. The issue was raised during discussions on challenges facing tea farmers.