Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has counselled President William Ruto to take action on Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Linturi has been dragged into the saga of a fake fertiliser brand supplied to Kenyan farmers. The CS has been dominating headlines and news pages over his approach to the scandal.
While appearing on the agriculture departmental committees both in the National Assembly and Senate, Linturi renounced the reports that the government was supplying fake inputs under its subsidy programme, clarifying that the fertiliser in question was only short of the requisite elements.
But Ahmednasir now says the CS could dent Ruto’s legacy. According to him, showing Linturi the door is the current bare minimum for the president.
“President William Rutowill be excused and even forgiven for overlooking the palpable incompetence of Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi. But he will not be forgiven for not acting decisively in chopping off Linturi’s head in light of the treasonous fertiliser scandal in the ministry,” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, Linturi directed the immediate shutdown of KEL chemical company pending investigations of fake fertilizer supplied to farmers.
In a statement on Friday, April 12, CS Linturi also ordered the manufacturing license issued to the company to be revoked immediately.
The Agriculture CS issued the directive after he visited the company’s manufacturing plant in Thika town, Kiambu County.
“This afternoon, I visited the KEL Manufacturing plant in Thika town as part of an ongoing investigation, where 3000 bags supplied from the company were found to be substandard. I have directed withdrawal of the manufacturing license for the KEL Chemicals Factory & its immediate closure pending probe by our investigative authorities,” read the statement in part.
CS Linturi mentioned that his ministry is committed to utilizing all legal provisions to ensure those exploiting the government’s subsidized fertilizer program, face the full force of the law.
“Safeguarding the interests of our farmers is paramount, & we will spare no effort in fulfilling this duty,” Linturi added. This comes a week after the Agriculture CS suspended Kelphos Plus, Kelphos gold, and NPK 10:26:10 fertilizers which are distributed by KEL Chemicals.
According to the ministry, the affected consignment was distributed by KEL Chemical fertilizers between 5th and 10th March 2024..<<CONTINUE READING>>
