Kenyan Farmers Swindled for Millions by Manilla Farm

Kenyan farmers have borne the brunt of unscrupulous fraudsters for years now; from the rabbit fiasco to the quail eggs boom and bust; the journey traveled by the Kenyan farmer is one paved with people with not so good intentions.

Now at least 140 people claim to have lost money to Manilla Farm, a company with its address at Nairobi’s Kimathi Chambers next to Meridian Hotel.

The company purported to get farmers 7 months pregnant Holstein Fresian cows for KSh 280, 000, capable of producing 45 liters of milk in a single day. This could be archived through a lump sum payment or a hire purchase scheme. The cows were paid for 6 months ago in October last year, but are yet to be delivered.

Through Daily Nation interviews, the dispirited farmers said they learnt of the scheme form advertisement in local dailies.

Nation reporters found the company offices locked. A security told them the building’s occupants had moved out.

The police unearthed the farm’s owner to be a politician who was a contestant for the Othaya Parliamentary seat in 2013. They had tried to contact through his mobile phone, but they found them switched off, and he did not respond to emails or Facebook messages.