Kenya: Two Farmers Killed in Rush to Sell Tobacco

Source from:  The Nation 01/31/2011

Nairobi — Two farmers were killed in a scramble to sell tobacco in Kuria West District. One of them was stabbed with a knife when he attempted to jump the queue. A mob then turned on the killer and beat him to death. The incident occurred at Taranganya, where Alliance One was buying leaf from the local farmers. District police boss Paul Wanjama said due to a high turnout of growers, one of the sellers had attempted to jump the long queue to be served promptly. Company staff fleeing The incident threw the leaf buying into confusion, with some farmers and company staff fleeing. Mr Wanjama said one person had been arrested in connection with the killings and would be arraigned in court soon. At the same time, the tobacco buying season in South Nyanza is still shrouded in controversy following claims of unethical practices by some players in the industry. Middlemen have descended on Migori, Rongo, Kuria East and Kuria West districts, buying the crop at throwaway prices for resale to multinational companies.