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Fake fertiliser scandal: Director of companies under probe freed on Sh5m bond

Josiah Kimani in the dock at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi on May 7, 2024. (Photo: Joseph Ndunda)

By Joseph Ndunda | 07 May 2024 15:24

The director of two firms that allegedly packaged soil and distributed it as organic fertiliser to farmers in the Rift Valley region was released by a court on Tuesday after denying multiple charges related to the scam.

Josiah Kariuki Kimani, the director of Fifty-One Capital (K) Limited and SBL Innovate Manufacturers, is facing several charges, including knowingly using a misleading label to sell fake fertiliser, contrary to Section 13(b) of the Fertiliser and Foodstuffs Act.

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Kimani is accused of packing soil in 139,688 bags, each weighing 25 kg, and reaping ShSh209,532,000. He was released on a Sh5 million bond or a Sh2 million cash bail.

The director allegedly committed the act with the intent to defraud Kenyan farmers between April 21, 2022, and March 8, 2024, at an unknown place within the country.

Kimani is also charged with applying a standardisation mark to a commodity that does not comply with Kenyan standards in contravention of Section 10(6) of the Standards Act, an offence allegedly committed between January 28, 2023, and March 8, 2024.

The court heard that he knowingly applied a standardisation mark of quality for the manufacture of organic fertiliser on the bags, yet they did not meet the specified requirements.

Kimani is facing two additional charges of uttering false documents in contravention of Section 353 of the Penal Code, where he is accused of knowingly and fraudulently presenting a forged permit to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPD).

He allegedly presented the forged permit on March 18, 2022, at NCPB's offices in Nairobi, purporting it to be a genuine standardisation mark issued to Fifty-One Capital by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KERBS).

Kimani was also charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, for allegedly colluding with others, including directors of the NCPB, to sell the fake fertiliser to farmers between March 17, 2022, and March 8, 2024.

He denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi.

He will face trial alongside NCPB Managing Director Joseph Kimote, Corporate Secretary Joseph Ng'etich, and advisory committee chair John Matiri, who have been charged with abuse of office for allegedly aiding the fraud. They have all denied the accusations.

Kimani's case will be mentioned on May 20 for consolidation with those of the accomplices charged before him.