Why you will soon pay more for ugali

Kenyans should brace themselves for tougher times as the government has stuck to the use of heavily taxed papers to package maize and wheat flour.

This revelation is contained in a court case filed by the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) against the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, his environment counterpart Deborah Barasa and the Attorney General Dorcas Oduor.

The millers lamented that insisting on the use of expensive kraft papers not only hurts the industry, but it will dent the pockets of consumers.

“Unless this court intervenes on an urgent basis, the increased cost of packaging materials will inevitably be passed on to consumers, leading to a significant rise in the price of flour and other staple food products, thereby exacerbating the cost of living and undermining the constitutional right to accessible and adequate food under Article 43,” the millers’ lawyer, Caxston Kigata argued

 The lawyer said that trouble started when NEMA barred the use of polypropylene balers or simply plastics in the grain milling sector.

He said that there was agreement that millers would continue using plastics, but under controlled conditions. Kigata added that millers made heavy investments in packaging.

However, he claimed that NEMA shifted the goal posts without explanation, which then sparked a dispute that then led to negotiations

He noted that NEMA insisted on the kraft paper.

Kigata stated that millers are unable to move to alternative packaging as it would mean paying 35 per cent tax attached to the kraft paper.

He asserted that millers have set up systems to ensure all plastic bags are collected and recycled responsibly.

The lawyer said the millers’ association has tried to engage with NEMA but its efforts have hit a dead end.

He argued it is unfair and discriminatory for the government to insist on the use of the expensive paper for flour while allowing other industries to use plastic packaging.

CMA Operations Officer Stephen Ogolla stated that following NEMA’s ban on plastics in 2013, it held a joint meeting with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and millers on February 6 the following year and agreed to have a framework where manufacturers use woven plastics but have a clear path to recycle the same.

“However, NEMA later introduced a total ban on plastic packaging,’’ Ogolla told The Standard.

He added that CMA has tried to not only seek for reasons for the selective ban on use of plastic packaging but also to engage
NEMA with a view to devising solutions that balance environmental conservation with economic viability.

Ogolla said NEMA has remained unresponsive to any request for engagement on the matter.

‘‘NEMA has refused or neglected to provide any written reasons for the ban or engage CMA,” he claimed.

According to him, the kraft paper will be the second most expensive commodity in flour production, after grains.

He said that if the cost is passed to the consumers, the cost of flour will definitely go up.

CMA urged the court to lift the ban until the case is heard and determined.

Millers separately filed a case before the Commercial Court seeking to force the the government to pay more than Sh2.3 billion, which it owes them, out of the maize flour subsidy programme rolled out in 2022 to lower the cost of the staple food in the country.

In their case, the millers argue that despite the government being ordered to pay them by the Commercial Court judge Njoki Mwangi, the Kenya Kwanza administration has gone mute and has refused to honour several demands.

The court heard that on March this year, the Commercial Cour paved the way for enforcement against the government.

The millers said that the order was forwarded to the Agriculture ministry and the Attorney General, to have them pay the amount.

“The applicants thereafter forwarded a letter dated March 26, 2026 requiring the government to settle the amount awarded within 21 days from the date of the letter,” the millers said.

After issues of unpaid deliveries emerged, the parties appeared before former Attorney General Githu Muigai as the arbitrator.

The court had awarded the millers Sh2.3 billion and Sh 23.2 million as costs.

However, the millers now argue that despite the orders being issued in November last year, they have remained a win just on paper as the Agriculture ministry has not paid them.

The millers argue that failure to honour court orders amounted to defiance.

For this, they asked the court to either force the Agriculture Principal Secretary, Paul Ronoh, to pay the money, or, in the alternative, find him in contempt.