‘Linturi hakutengeza fertilizer’ – Meru leaders defend CS Linturi, term impeachment motion malicious

A section of Meru leaders have defended embattled Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi against the impeachment motion tabled before the National Assembly.

Led by the Meru County Assembly speaker Ayub Bundi, the leaders dismissed the impeachment motion against the CS terming it malicious and ill-advised. They also watered down the accusations against him, saying he was not involved in manufacturing and distributing the fake fertilizer.

They subsequently called on President William Ruto to join them in standing with the embattled CS ahead of his hearing before the 11-member committee established to investigate his conduct, the leaders also called on the government to investigate the matter to shed light on the saga.

“Sisi tunaomba his Excellency William Ruto, vile sisi tulishikana tukasimama na wewe na watu wa Rift Valley na tukataka kiti iende Rift Valley, pia tafadhali tunakuomba, msimame na sisi wakati tuko na shida, kijana yetu waziri Mithika Linturi ataulizwa swali ndogo ama kubwa.

“Tunasema Linturi si yeye alitengeneza fertilizer, wala si yeye ali supply fertilizer,  si yeye mwenye aliuza, serikali ifanye uchunguzi. Itakua nani aliileta, nani aliiba na ili dhibitishwa na nani,” Bundi said.

Loosely translates to;

"We are pleading with President William Ruto to stand with our person in the same manner that we stood with you during the election period. Linturi did not manufacture the fertilizer, neither did he supply it. we are asking the government to thoroughly investigate to establish the reaal culprit behind the saga."

Linturi's fate

The latest comes even as the 11-member House Committee set up to investigate the conduct of the CS began its hearing today.

The committee has ten days to investigate and table its findings to the National Assembly which will decide whether the CS's impeachment will be rejected or upheld.

The parliament approved the impeachment motion against the CS after Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour of it.

Out of the 188 MPs who voted, 149 supported the motion to have Linturi impeached over the recent fertilizer scandal which grabbed headlines, 36 opposed the motion whereas three abstained from the proceedings.

To proceed, it is required that an impeachment motion should be supported by at least one-third of the members of the National Assembly.

The motion cited Linturi's approval of the procurement and distribution of fake fertilizer by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), and the signing of an agency agreement for the supply and distribution of GPC diatomaceous, which was misrepresented as chemical fertilizer.