KIRINYAGA, 25th April –The People’s Liberation Party leader (PLP), Martha Karua has sharply criticised President William Ruto’s foreign policy decisions, linking them to the growing economic distress among tea farmers in the Mt Kenya region.
Speaking in Kagio Centre, Kirinyaga County on Friday April 23rd, during the first leg of her three-day ‘Purple Train’ regional tour, she warned that reckless diplomatic engagements, particularly involving Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are directly undermining Kenya’s agricultural lifelines and exposing the country to serious economic risks, that will ultimately hurt Wanjiku (common man).
“When Sudan, a major importer of the tea you grow, announced an indefinite ban on Kenyan imports last month, it was you who suffered, and continue to suffer. It is your families that are left wondering how to pay fees, and this is a direct result of a diplomatic fallout with our neighbours, who now refuse to do business with us,” Karua told the gathering.
The 2027 presidential aspirant cautioned that as the government entangles itself with RSF warlords, Mt Kenya tea farmers are forced to watch their harvest rot and their bonuses vanish.
“Farmers are the backbone of Kenya’s economy, yet their hard work is being rendered worthless at the ports. When a President chooses foreign entanglements over his own people’s livelihoods, it is wenye nchi who pays the price,” Karua stated.
Before the ban, she explained that Sudan was a top-tier market, importing over 10.7 million kilograms of tea in 2024 alone. This trade, which contributed between Sh3.88 billion and Sh5.17 billion ($30–$40 million) annually, has been replaced by a projected industry loss of up to Sh7 billion ($54.13 million).
Karua warned that this massive deficit is now being felt in the pockets of local families. The price of failed leadership
Karua warned that Sudan’s suspension of Kenyan imports is a direct response to the government’s controversial links with RSF leaders, and yet another hefty price that Kenyans are paying for Kenya Kwanza’s growing list of leadership failures.
According to Karua, this however, follows the February 2026 confirmation by the US Treasury that Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, brother of the RSF commander, was issued a Kenyan passport (No. AK1586127).
Karua, who has consistently demanded transparency regarding these dealings, cautioned that this failure of diplomatic integrity has left Kenyan farmers to bear the brunt of stalled exports.
Terming Ruto’s leadership a tragedy, she wondered why he traverses the country claiming to have the ‘massive support’ of Central Kenya, while his policies are systematically emptying the pockets of the very people he claims to love.
“You cannot say you support the mountain while you are sawing off the branch we sit on. Is the friendship of a sanctioned warlord more valuable to this administration than the sweat of a tea picker in Gichugu? ‘Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are,’” added Karua who in the 2022 Kenya general elections, was the presidential running mate to Raila Odinga under the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition banner.
Sh42M Thiba Dam Penalties
Karua criticised the Kenya Kwanza administration for its systematic failure to support key agricultural sectors, pointing to the Thiba Dam expansion delays as a glaring monument to mismanagement, graft, and incompetence.
The PLP chief, who previously served as Water Minister under the Mwai Kibaki government, noted that while Mwea rice farmers endure crippling water rationing, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently flagged Sh42.12 million in taxpayer funds lost solely to interest penalties because the government failed to pay contractors on time.
“When they waste over Sh40 million on penalties instead of finishing irrigation canals, they are eating the future of your children,” Karua stated.
“In Mwea, you are forced to pay for water via eCitizen, yet the infrastructure stalls because of debt and incompetence. Whether it is tea, coffee, or rice, the story is the same: this government does not have the will, the interest, or the capacity to protect the local farmer.”
“2027 ondoeni wakulaji; wekeni wafanyakazi. We must end this era where leaders serve their own greed while the people suffer. From the MCA level to the Statehouse, Kenyans deserve a government that treats the farmer’s sweat as sacred,” she urged the voters.
Under her leadership, she reiterated that she will stop dismantling what works to strengthen local systems and build an economy that respects and rewards the hard work of every Kenyan.
Karua further warned that the systematic weakening of agriculture, the backbone of both the region and the nation, is a direct threat to Kenya’s national stability.
She concluded by demanding immediate transparency regarding the government’s engagement with RSF-linked individuals and urgent action to stabilise the agricultural sector before more markets are lost.
Accompanied by local leaders and PLP officials, Karua took the “Purple Train” movement through Kirinyaga to champion her vision for economic liberation, with the tour scheduled to continue into Nyeri this Saturday.
She was flanked by key aspirants such as Philip Migwi and Peter Ndambiri (Kirinyaga Governor), Nderitu Mureithi (Mwea MP), and Boniface Mwangi (Kiambu Governor).
Together, they urged residents to reject “economic abandonment” in favour of leadership that restores dignity to the Mwananchi.
