Linturi throws PS Rono, NCPB boss under the bus

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi on Thursday distanced himself from the fertiliser scandal, saying he is not an accounting officer of the ministry or the National Cereals and Produce Board.

The CS said he had no direct role in the procurement, throwing Agriculture PS Paul Rono and NCPB boss Joseph Kimote under the bus.

“Anyone who directly or indirectly has no responsibility under the law may not be blamed for the fake fertiliser but those people vested with the responsibility of procurement are the ones who are supposed to be answerable,” Linturi said.

He announced that the NCPB managing director was suspended last week, but argued he had not read the minutes of the board discussion to know the reasons they kicked him out.

“I have not looked at the reasons advanced by the board…until I am served in writing, all these other stories are not something I would want to cling to,” he said.

The CS maintained he had no connection to the purchase of fertiliser, adding that he at no time directs any entity in his ministry on any procurement.

“I have no power to direct any procuring entity within my ministry to do anything in regards to procurement,” he said.

Linturi made the defence even as his legal team poked holes in the witness statements before the committee.

In a blow-by-blow response to the allegations of gross violation of the Constitution and other laws, the CS maintained his innocence, further saying at no point did he mislead Parliament.

“Some of the letters [from the PS] exonerate me,” he said, adding that none of the allegations in the motion by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami has direct links to fertiliser purchases.

“NCPB is a state agency in my ministry with an accounting officer who is the MD, with responsibilities defined by an Act of Parliament. My role in the NCPB is to appoint the managing director on recommendation of the board,” he said.

The Agriculture CS said his meetings with the NCBP managing director were to follow up on whether the agency had complied with the agreed standards.

He denied coercing anyone to act in a manner that would compromise the quality of the fertiliser that was distributed.

“It was the responsibility of the supplier to conform to the standards and quality that was agreed between them and Kenya Bureau of Standards,” he said, adding that the tendering process were above board.

Linturi urged MPs to “dismiss the motion with the contempt it deserves” as it had no merit and was not founded on facts of law, adding that farmers were now receiving good quality fertiliser.

On Wednesday, MPs ruled to have PS Rono and Kel Chemicals chief operations officer Devesh Patel testify in the case.

The CS said his office acted promptly after it emerged that there was fake fertiliser being distributed to farmers.

“I was out of the country when this issue came up and I asked the PS to order a stop to further distribution of the substandard fertiliser. This action saved farmers,” he said.

The CS said he added further tests for the fertiliser that was in the questioned batch and that the concerned agencies were to report to him on the outcome.

Wamboka’s lawyer John Khaminwa pressed the CS on the steps he took after the case was reported.

The CS also dismissed the grounds of the previous cases he has fought in courts, saying they had no coincidence but have been ruled in his favour all the same.

“The cases were decided by different judges and about different contracts hence no coincidence,” he said.

On the charge of misleading a House committee, Linturi said the documents referred to by Wamboka were done by his predecessor.

He argued that the deal for NCPB to distribute the soil conditioner - which MPs claimed he presented instead of that fertiliser - was reached in March 2022 before he was minister.

“It is the mover who is trying to mislead the committee that what was distributed was soil conditioner,” the CS said.

Linturi said that before the fertiliser was purchased, he wrote to the concerned to ensure due diligence was conducted before the purchases were committed to.

“I stated that there was a need to ascertain the quality of fertiliser before delivery. I did the letter on December 20, 2023. The letter was to ask suppliers to confirm in writing that the fertiliser is of quality,” the CS said.

He maintained that, “The content of the letter is not consistent with the narrative of an incompetent minister with no clue of what is being procured.”

Linturi told the House team that his woes started during the previous regime, citing the numerous cases he fought in court.

“It has been a very painful experience,” the CS said, almost breaking down in tears. “We had six years running battles with the former administration which targeted people who supported a particular political party.”

Linturi said he was intimidated and all sorts of tricks were used to coerce him to abandon President William Ruto, further stating he was a victim of persecution.

His lawyers stated that none of the witnesses confirmed the accusations levelled against the Cabinet Secretary.

“The witness did not know the content of the motion. The one who posed as an expert on fertiliser did not produce any evidence to show he was an expert on the same,” he said.

Linturi said the perceptions about his character and persona were equally not among the grounds stated in the law for the removal of a state officer.

The CS said there was no law which allows anyone to judge a person based on a perceived character.

The hearing was adjourned temporarily on Thursday after the petitioner and some of his lawyers failed to show up in time for cross-examination of the CS.

Wanami did not appear in the morning sitting, while some of his lawyers were not at the afternoon session, sparking concerns about their whereabouts.

His lead lawyer Khaminwa drew the attention of the meeting to the development just when Wamboka’s side was expected to cross-examine Linturi.

He asked the committee to grant his side 15 minutes to allow the MP to get to County Hall where the meeting was underway.

In his earlier pleadings, Wamboka told MPs that the Fertiliser and Animal Foodstuffs Board of Kenya should have procured the subsidised fertiliser and not the NCPB.

The MP also faulted the CS for closing the factory which was alleged to be involved in the manufacture of the queried fertiliser.

Following the conclusion of the hearings, the committee is expected to retreat and write a report to table in the plenary on Monday.