Immigration On The Spot For Allowing Kibos Sugar Cartels To Keep Illegal Immigrants

Illegal Asian Immigrants have infiltrated the Asian companies in Kenya whose owners have managed to pocket the mandated authorities to keep off. Locals have complained now and again on the encroachment of basic jobs of which smuggled Asian nationalities have occupied. 

Kibos sugar company owned by one of the Asian families is one of the many examples of failed Immigration mission to honour their allegiance to protecting the security of the country at all cost. According to our source, the jobs specifications for the alien workers in the company include security, supervisors in boilers, electrical mechanics, boiler operators, welders, fitters, timekeeper clerks and store men. 

Their salaries according to oranges from Kshs 40,000 to Kshs 105,000 whilst the highest paid local employee earns about Kshs 45,000 p.m whom is boiler engineer. Not forgetting that these foreign workers are not subjected to statutory reductions such as for the NSSF and NHIF.

At some point in 2019, Immigration department attempted to enforce stringent immigration-related requirements and rules to protect the local labour market and ensure compliance with the immigration laws. 

The Department of Immigration issued the following directives, effective immediately:

1. Tax Compliance Certificate requirement. Foreign nationals and employers applying for a work permit renewal must submit an individual and company Tax Compliance Certificates. The Certificate, which all employers and employees must obtain on an annual basis as part of tax compliance laws in Kenya, must meet Kenyan Revenue Authority regulations.

Impact. Work permit renewal applications submitted without the document will be rejected, which will delay the immigration process.

Employment information. Employers must submit information on their employees (including the name, gender, occupation, date of employment, nationality and educational level) using a template on the National Employment Authority (NEA) website or the NEA integrated Management system by July 8, 2019.  In future years, the deadline will be January 31 for the preceding year’s information. In addition, employers must maintain a list with the same information in case of a government inspection.

Impact. Employers who fail to send their employee information by the deadline or who fail to maintain the list may face penalties in accordance with the law.

Increased scrutiny. The Department of Immigration has announced that it has increased its scrutiny of applications for long and short-term work permits.

Impact. More work permit applicants are likely to see rejections and there will likely be an increase in requests for additional documentation. Employers should obtain clearances from regulatory bodies in advance and should be ready to provide additional documentation, if required.

The sense of ownership and double standards the Chatthe family enjoys is beyond a normal citizen’s imagination. Kibos Sugar and Miwani factories have employed hundreds of undocumented Asians and the authorities are aware but maim on the matter as they are under the payslip of the barons.

These Asian aliens are said to be smuggled inn masquerading as missionaries, clergymen etc.

The Chatthe’s, who co-own Kibos Sugar factory, have destroyed the sugar industry in Kenya through the importation of toxic sugar, illegal dealings, killings on drunk driving and getting away with murder with the help of the authorities.

Toxic emissions from the factory putting the river and being overlooked putting locals in danger of untold dangerous long term health damages.

At some point, Kibos sugar company was shut down by NEMA over non-compliance in one of many illegal activities done by the family.  Kibos had been emitting 245 micrometres of pollutants, five times more than the national standards. Kibos failed to adhere to emission reduction measures as set out in part (IV) of the 5tg schedule of the Air Quality Regulation 2014.  With this contempt, The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) ordered for the immediate closure of Kibos Sugar and Allied industries for failing to comply with air quality regulations last year 2020. The authority undertook an ambient air quality monitoring from December 17-21, 2019.

Because of the serious environmental and health risk posed by the emission of particulate matter, the Authority considered that the c boiler operations contravened Article 42 of the Constitution which guarantees everyone a right to clean and healthy environment. The firm had been given the firm 30 days to install an effective air pollution control system at the boiler and provide its performance levels to Nema.

Kibos Sugar Company Ltd has managed to infiltrate, bribe and buy the silence of surrounding Luo leaders who now can’t raise a voice on the health hazards the locals are exposed to by the company thereby leaving them for the dead. The management thrives in impunity.

Besides air pollution, they were also on the radar for water pollution as the factory’s ethanol distillery has poor waste disposal  polluting the two rivers with dangerous chemical waste. The High Court in Kisumu on October 31 revoked the license of Kibos Sugar & Allied Industries Ltd (KSAIL) and shut down all its five factories after the Killer directors ignored NEMA warning and continued to pollute river Awach which leads to Lake Victoria.

Chatthe‘s sons

Kibos Sugar factory was founded by Patriarch Sardar Channan Singh Chatthe who ran the Chatteh Group of Companies and trustee of Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries LTD(KSAIL) he fried in January. Company is currently run by Mr. Sukhwinder Singh Chatthe — one of whose flamboyant sons (Simi Chatthe) whom is deemed to have been behind the company car’s wheel one fateful night when the official company’s car hit 3 people ( Meshak Ouma (37), George Oudi (28) and Martin Bonyo (25) who died on spot. This happened at around 9 pm in July, 2020 last year.

According to witnesses who were present at the gory scene, a speeding driver unsuccessfully attempted to overtake the three who were on a bodaboda but ended up knocking down and killing them all on the spot.

The car was driven into the the factory premises then the occupants fled away. To cover up the culprits, the suspect who was arrested and later released on bond following the incident was in fact neither driving nor inside the said vehicle which caused the accident.

Locals staged protests but all were in vain.

Protesters storm Kibos Sugar factory in Kisumu after three people were ran over & killed in an accident allegedly involving the company car on Saturday night pic.twitter.com/vOoCaTz5At

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) July 21, 2020

In 2018, the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji ordered the prosecution of Mr Chatthe, Crossley Holdings and seven other suspects for conspiracy to fraudulently transfer the land between 2007 and 2008. Crossley, through a law suit, claimed to have acquired the land through an auction in 2007 and wanted the court to issue eviction order to the current occupants.

For the silence, Kibos Sugar management giving donations to locals overseen by Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o.

The company, which was represented by Mr James Orengo, claimed the parcel of land registered as LR No 7545/3 was then occupied partly by trespassers and illegal settlers.

Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association Secretary-General Richard Ogendo accused Crossley Holdings of attempting to defraud the State-owned miller of its prime land.

Crossly Holdings owned by Kibos Sugar Company chairman Sukhwinder Singh Chatthe. Agriculture Permanent Secretary Hamadi Boga told a National Assembly committee how the land was fictitiously transferred to Crossley Limited by people out to defraud the miller.

Former Kisumu Law Courts Chief Magistrate Abdulkarir Athman, Kibos Sugar Company chairman Sakhwinder Singh Chatte & 5 others have been arraigned in court. The suspects are accused of fraudulently acquiring over 9,000 acres of land belonging Miwani Sugar Company. #NTVAtOne pic.twitter.com/7UTjexwhLD

— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) October 19, 2018

Taking advantage of their acquaintance with the DP Ruto who is the defiant face of impunity in government, this family like Mr.Jayesh, Rai family are taking advantage of Kenya’s weakest link -Corruption to have the guts.

DP Ruto at the furthest end (Right) with the Chatthe family

April 2021, another horrible incident happened in the company. Maurice Ongonyo, a bell tractor operator died on Thursday at the Kibos Sugar factory paper mill section after falling a moving conveyor belt, reports say. The incident that happened 1.30am would later turn out to be a case of an overworked, not motivate and underpaid employee incident.

With relevant authorities charged with safeguarding environment having failed to discharge their mandate to stop ‘the rot’ going on in River Kibos, regional lobby groups have been urging residents of the Lakeside County and its environs to boycott sugar from Kibos Sugar factory  . Accordingly, boycotting sugar from the Kibos Sugar factory will go a long way in putting pressure on the factories’ management to stop polluting River Kibos which pours its water into Lake Victoria.