Months after the fake fertiliser claims scandal threatened to wreck President William Ruto’s agenda of improving food security, the Kenya Kwanza administration has now unveiled stringent measures to lock out unscrupulous dealers.
Speaking on Saturday, October 26, 2024, Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh announced that the government has unveiled measures to ensure fertiliser is checked at various receiving and distribution centres.
To achieve this target, PS Ronoh disclosed that the ministry had established a fertiliser inspection unit which will traverse various parts of the country to execute the plan.
“This time we are going to make sure that at every point of fertiliser receiving and distribution, they are checked,” Ronoh said.
“We have already put up a team we are calling it fertiliser monitoring and inspection team which will go across the country to make sure that the fertiliser the farmers are getting are of the right quality and quantity.”
In addition, the PS detailed that the Kenya Kwanza administration had adopted the multi-agency approach in testing the fertiliser to ensure farmers receive standard and approved packets to help them during the planting season.
“We have also put together all government agencies like KEBS and other accredited inspection companies to make that the fertilisers meet the required standards,” Ronoh added.
Fake fertiliser scandal
The fake fertiliser scandal almost sent the former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi home.
The former CS survived an impeachment motion after the special parliamentary committee determined that the grounds of the impeachment motion were not substantiated.
“The allegations under Ground 1 on gross violation of the constitution, Ground 2 on serious reason for believing that the cabinet secretary has committed a crime under national law and Ground 3 on gross misconduct, as outlined in the special motion, are unsubstantiated,” the committee said in its report to the National Assembly in May 2024.
The 11-member committee investigated allegations raised against the former agriculture minister in the impeachment motion sponsored by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka.
Seven of the 11 MPs voted to save the CS.
MP Wamboka had listed three grounds in the impeachment motion against CS Linturi including gross violation of the Constitution or any other law, serious reasons to believe the CS has committed a crime under national law, as well as gross misconduct.
This was after farmers in different parts of the country raised concerns over the quality of the fertiliser. This prompted various investigative agencies to open probes which saw other senior officials dragged into the scandal.
Some of the cases connected to the scandal are still ongoing.
