Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is set to face tough questions over his alleged role in the fake fertiliser saga when his impeachment in Parliament kicks off on Wednesday.
The motion has the backing of some UDA MPs and could easily sail through if President William Ruto fails to intervene for one of his key lieutenants from Meru region.
The fate of Linturi, facing both an ouster motion and a probe by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, is likely to shake the 21-member Ruto Cabinet
Linturi’s removal is pegged on three grounds, namely, 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.
The 11-member select committee that is considering his removal will conduct a three-day marathon hearing from Wednesday to Friday.
First to take the stand on Wednesday is the sponsor of the motion Bumula MP Jack Wanami, who is Linturi’s accuser.
Speaking at Parliament buildings on Tuesday, Wanami exuded confidence that he has enough evidence to send the minister packing.
“We just filed our submissions. We are ready for the case. We are ready to prove to the whole world that Mithika Linturi has acted in a manner that is out of the Constitution.
“We have every fact and detail linking Linturi to the fertiliser scandal.”
The MP was accompanied by his lead lawyer John Khaminwa.
The chairperson of the Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education of the National Assembly said he would appeal to all partners of Kenya through their ambassadors to blacklist CS Linturi.
He also expressed confidence in the 11-member team handling the removal.
“We are happy most members of the committee are from agricultural zones. It is up to them. I have trust in the committee. They know what their farmers are going through,” Wanami said.
“We have confidence in the committee. The people who voted in this matter were from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio,” Khaminwa said.
One of the questions the CS will face is his directive to Kel Chemicals - the company accused of distributing fake fertiliser – to read a statement authored by the National Cereals and Produce Board.
In the alleged statement, the authorities wanted Kel Chemicals to admit liability for the fake input. The firm refused.
Wanami says it was at that point that Linturi moved to close Kel Chemicals and declare its premises a crime scene.
“His subsequent closure of the factory and declaration of it as a crime scene due to the company’s refusal to participate in the staged press conference discloses grounds that there are serious reasons for believing that the Cabinet Secretary has committed a crime under national law,” Wanami says in the motion.
The claim is corroborated by Kel’s lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi, who in a letter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations claimed a plot to incriminate the company through the staged press conference.
According to Ahmednasir, Kel chief operations officer Devesh Patel received a call from NCPB managing director Joseph Kimote asking him to report to the board’s headquarters.
“Our client informed us of the attempts by two public officers to distort the correct account of what transpired, and to present a counter-narrative whose end was to incriminate our client through intimidation and threats,” Ahmednasir said in a letter dated April 19 to the DCI.
Wanami will also demonstrate to the committee that Linturi’s failure to allow public participation in the procurement and distribution of fertiliser may have compromised the programme and violated the law.
The CS will also be fielding questions on the alleged breach of Article 46 of the Constitution infringing on consumer rights to goods and services of reasonable quality and to protection of their health, safety, and economic interests by approving procurement of fake fertiliser.
The CS is accused of misleading the public by submitting false information to departmental committee of the National Assembly that GPC diatomaceous was distributed as a soil conditioner and not as a fertiliser.
“This amounts to gross misconduct contrary to section 29 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, Cap 185,” Wanami stated in his grounds for removal.
The committee led by Marsabit Woman Representative Naomi Waqo will then retreat over the weekend to write a report.
The report will be presented to Parliament during a special sitting on Monday next week.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has already summoned MPs for a special sitting on Monday to consider the report of the Waqo team on the removal of Linturi.
"That, pursuant to the provisions of Article 152 (7) (b) of the Constitution and Standing Orders 64(3) and 66, I have appointed Monday, 13th May 2024 at 2.30 pm as the day and time for a special sitting of the House to receive the report of the Select Committee," the communication from the Speaker reads.
The MPs proceeded on a long recess on May 2 and are scheduled to resume on June 4.
Wetang'ula directed the Clerk of the House to communicate the same to the members.
"The clerk is directed to circulate this notification to all members, prepare the necessary messages for formal conveyance to the House and make all necessary arrangements to facilitate the special sitting," it states.
Yesterday, the 11-member team held a pre-hearing meeting to set the ground rules for engagement.
The evening session was attended by CS Linturi and his accuser, the Bumula lawmaker.
The committee has Naomi Waqo (Marsabit, Kenya Kwanza), Robert Mbui (Kathiani, Azimio), Rachael Nyamai (Kitui South, Jubilee), Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi, Kenya Kwanza), George Murugara (Tharaka, Kenya Kwanza), TJ Kajwang (Ruaraka, Azimio), and Jane Maina (Kirinyaga, Kenya Kwanza).
Others are Malulu Injendi (Malava, Kenya Kwanza), Kassim Tandaza (Matuga, Kenya Kwanza), Catherine Omanyo (Busia, Azimio) and Yusuf Farah (Wajir West, Azimio).
During the select committee sittings, the CS will be given a chance to defend himself personally or through a representative.
Linturi becomes the first Cabinet Secretary in President William Ruto’s Cabinet to face impeachment that threatens to end his career.
His accusers will also have a day before the probe team to give evidence of the allegations.
The dismissal motion will hit a dead end if the 11-member committee finds the allegations unsubstantiated.
In case the allegations are substantiated, MPs will vote to approve the resolution requiring the CS to be dismissed.
Before the vote, the CS will again be given a chance to defend himself personally or through a representative before the whole House of Parliament.
Three days before his appearance, the motion plus the supporting evidence shall be provided to him.
“If a resolution requiring the President to dismiss a Cabinet Secretary is supported by a majority of the Members of the National Assembly, the Speaker shall promptly deliver the resolution to the President,” reads Section 66(8) of the National Assembly Standing Orders.