Police have shifted their probe into alleged fraudulent claims of fertiliser by farmers to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have demanded a register of all registered farmers vis a vis those who requested for subsidised fertiliser.
Sources aware of the probe said the detectives had written to the Agriculture and Food Authority, National Cereals and Produce Board and Kenya National Trading Corporation for details on the registered farmers and fertiliser supplied so far under the subsidy programme.
This is after reports emerged that some farmers alleged to possess huge chunks of land to get subsidised fertiliser.
The investigators plan to visit the farms of the farmers who claimed the fertiliser to confirm if they indeed have the same acreage.
Officials claim some staff at the ministry may have allegedly colluded with fraudulent farmers to defraud the government of millions of shillings worth of fertilizer.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi had told Members of Parliament some 500,436 farmers in 40 counties have accessed 3,302,683 bags of subsidised fertiliser.
"Only registered farmers in the e-voucher system can access subsidised fertilizers through National Cereals and Produce Board and Kenya National Trading Corporation selling centres," Linturi said.
Officials said they expect prosecution of more officials.
A farmer accused of deceiving the NCPB depot that he had a farm measuring 1050 acres hence obtaining 4304 bags of fertiliser fraudulently was on Thursday, November 8 charged at a Nairobi court.
Benjamin Mosbey Kuto was accused that he used cheating tricks to acquire the said bags of fertiliser.
He is said to have approached the Board that he has a land measuring 1050 acres on which he was carrying out crop farming, a claim he knew was false.
He allegedly committed the offence on dates between July 31 and October 6, 2023, at various NCPBs in the country.
The prosecution said the accused using the fraudulent tricks obtained 4,304 bags of fertilizer worth Sh21,520,000 but subsidized by the government to a price of Sh10,760,000.
He appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina and denied the charges.
He requested to be released on bail, which was opposed by the prosecution.
He was remanded at the Industrial area prison until Friday for the hearing of his bond application.
