Kenya's tea agency says circulating factory bonus payments list is fake

IN SHORT: An image circulating on social media bears the Kenya Tea Development Agency logo and announces the bonus payments for 44 tea factories. But the agency has dismissed the list as fake.

"Official KTDA bonus Rates 2026," reads the caption of an image circulating on social media in Kenya.

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Kenya Tea Development Agency, or KTDA, is a private company owned by about 600,000 smallholder tea farmers from 16 counties. The agency manages the efficient production, processing and marketing of tea.

The image seemingly bears KTDA's logo and is titled "bonus declaration".

It began circulating after the announcement that KTDA directors were expected to declare annual bonus payments for the 2025/26 financial year.

In August 2026, claims surfaced that farmers could receive lower bonuses because factories were allegedly still servicing loans taken during the previous payout, but the claims were dismissed.

So is the "bonus declaration" image legitimate? We checked.

Image is 'fake'

Africa Check found no credible news reports announcing bonus payouts to tea farmers. If this development were legitimate, local media houses would have reported on it.

On 25 September, KTDA posted the circulating image on its official Facebook account with the word "fake" printed across it in red.

"Information circulating online regarding tea bonus payments is misleading and unverified. Bonus payments will be declared individually by respective tea factories, on dates agreed upon with their respective factory boards. The declarations are expected to be made sometime next week," reads the post.

The image circulating online is fake and should be ignored.