Long serving Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samuel Lerionka Tiampati has finally been ousted.
His exit brings an end to an error that has seen the woes of tea farmers across the country worsen and has ushered in a new dawn that farmers hope will be brighter.
After the long serving chairman was ousted two months ago, it was a matter of time before Tiampati was shown the door following ground shaking reforms in the sector.
Tiampati was the one of the key officers that were left before the tea reforms could be completed.
A statement from KTDA issued on Friday said Tiampati had requested for an early exit before the expiry of his term.
The statement said Tiampati had left the company effective September 9, 2021 after applying for an early exit before expiry of his contract that was approved by the board this week.
It further went on to say that Tiampati joined KTDA in2004 as the Managing Director from Kenya Tea Packers Limited (KETEPA) where he served as CEO of the tea packaging subsidiary company which is majority owned by KTDA.
When the tea reforms shifted to a higher gear, first to go was long serving Chairman Peter Kanyago who was shown the door in early June after serving for nearly three decades.
Kanyago was replaced by Daniel Ichoho who immediately sent Tiampati on compulsory leave who also appointed Wilson Muthaura Mathiu as the acting Group Chief Executive Officer as the new board moved to stamp its authority.
Also sent on compulsory leave at the time was the Company Secretary John Omanga and Managing Director MS Alfred Njagi.
The trio attempted to fight the new management describing the new changes as illegal and went to court to challenge their ouster.
But with Tiampati electing to leave KTDA, it is a clear sign that they had thrown in the towel and realized they will not be able to stop the tea reforms that have the full backing of President Uhuru Kenyatta and implemented by the hand working Agriculture CS Peter Munya.
