Nairobi, Kenya – Two former National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) officials, a businessman, and two companies will stand trial over the sale of Sh209 million worth of substandard fertilizer, following a ruling at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday.
The accused include a former NCPB Business Development Committee chair and a former Corporate Secretary, who prosecutors say abused their offices to confer unlawful benefits through agency contracts. The businessman, who owns both charged firms, faces additional counts of forgery, uttering false documents, applying fake standardisation marks, and using misleading labels to pass off soil conditioners as fertilizer.
Senior Assistant DPP Everlyn Onunga told the court the prosecution had established a prima facie case linking the accused to a conspiracy to defraud the public between March 2022 and March 2024. The former NCPB managing director, however, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Investigators allege the businessman forged documents to mislead the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), including falsified permits and altered agreements, enabling him to market non-compliant products as certified fertilizer.
The scandal erupted as farmers across the country complained of poor yields tied to fake or diluted fertilizer. In March 2025, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe ordered the destruction of more than 27,000 bags of expired fertilizer in NCPB stores, assuring the public that the government would not absorb the losses.
The case is set for a defence hearing on October 16, with observers saying its outcome will test Kenya’s resolve to address corruption in the agriculture sector, which remains central to food security.
