Fake fertiliser scandal: Lawyer petitions court to declare CS Linturi unfit for office

A non-governmental organisation (NGO) has petitioned the High Court to declare Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi unfit to hold public office following the fertiliser scandal.

Elimisha Mwananchi Initiative (EMI), through its Executive Director Daniel Wangenye, accuses Linturo of failing to protect farmers from exploitation by two companies that sold soil disguised as fertiliser, mainly in the Rift Valley region.

Wangenye also wants the bosses of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) permanently barred from holding public office.

Wangenye, also a lawyer, has invited the court to find Linturi and the other officials' failure to uphold farmers' rights to consumer protection a violation of the constitution that makes them unfit to serve the public.

Wangenye says he sued on behalf of more than 2000 farmers who had already bought and used the substance, and they want the Ministry of Agriculture, KEBS, the NCPB, and the CAK to pay them.

The lawyer says each of the farmers bought a bag of the product for Sh2000 and used it on an acre of land, expecting to harvest 20 bags of maize, which they would sell for Sh3,000 each to make Sh60,000, an expectation that will never be fulfilled.

He wants all the affected farmers paid special damages for the losses incurred in the purchase and use of the commodity that was distributed by the companies contracted by the government through the NCPB.

The petitioner further wants the court to compel the Agriculture ministry and the agencies to publicise the names of all the persons involved in the scandal and arrest and prosecute the individuals and entities involved in the sale and distribution of the commodity he described as substandard and hazardous.

Wangenye notes that the distribution of fake fertiliser poses a serious threat to the country's food security, health, and stability as a country.

"The farmers, largely in the North and South Rift, are staring at losses and uncertainty following this disturbing discovery," he states in suit papers.

The government moved to suspend NPK 10:26:10 fertiliser via a letter dated March 20, 2024, addressed to the NCPB's managing director. It also suspended a deal between KEL Chemicals, which supplies the NCPB under the government's subsidy programme.

The NCPB was also directed to suspend all further distribution of the NPK 10:26:10 fertiliser on the discovery that it did not meet standards.

The scandal was exposed by investigative journalist John Allan Namu, but Linturi dismissed this as malicious and a political weapon by the opposition.

However, the Agriculture ministry said on April 5, 2024, that all the fertilisers distributed by KEL Chemicals and branded Kelphos Plus, Kelphos Gold, and NPK 10:26:10 did not meet standards.

"Notwithstanding, some farmers had already bought and used this fertiliser whose composition and effects are unknown," Wangenye states in his suit.

He has indicated that he will collect the names of at least 2000 farmers, mainly from the Rift Valley region, who have used the substance and annex their names as petitioners in the case.

The matter will be mentioned before Justice Chacha Mwita on May 30 for directions to be given after Linturi and others listed as respondents file their responses.