DPP ORDERS THE ARREST OF CS LINTURI AND PS RONOH OVER THE ALLEGED FAKE FERTILIZER SCANDAL.

To make an arrest and bring charges, detectives were searching for Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi and his Principal Secretary, Paul Ronoh, on Friday.

This comes after charges, among others, were approved by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for the two. 

According to officials, the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and two to five other top officials had allegedly been called in for processing. 

"We're trying to find them. We are currently searching for them, but they were meant to come here after being called," an official with knowledge of the situation stated. 

Joseph Kimote, the managing director of NCPB, is reportedly one of the people being arrested once more. 

There is another file that is being looked into.

In the story, the DCI has accessed nine different files.

For processing, they were anticipated at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi.

Police are allegedly questioning Linturi for producing, distributing, and selling farmers inferior fertilizer through the fertilizer subsidy program.

He met with police last Friday in his office, where he was interrogated for as long as two hours, according to officials.

Linturi, who was escorted by his advisors and legal team, denied any involvement in the scheme, according to sources who were aware of the interrogation.

According to him, he has no involvement in the procurement and his position is policy-driven.

More questioning sessions with the aforementioned are scheduled, and the investigators are still looking into the case.

Under the fertilizer subsidy program, the ODPP had instructed the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to conduct extensive and exhaustive investigations into the production, sale, and distribution of inferior fertilizer to farmers.

Mulele Ingonga, the director of public prosecution, authorized the charges against the initial set of individuals involved in the fraud.

There is reportedly a motion in Parliament to remove Linturi from office.

Although Linturi has been negatively cited in the purported scam, he disputes any involvement. He has connected politics to the saga. For example, Kel Chemicals Chief Operating Officer (COO) Devesh Patel brought up the controversy involving senior government officials, including Linturi, during his appearance before the National Assembly's Agriculture Committee.

Patel's harsh accusations were made just one week after Linturi halted Kel Chemical's business due to suspicions of involvement in the phony fertilizer incident.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, testing on every fertilizer supplied as part of the subsidy scheme has been finished.

Except for those produced and distributed under the Ms. KEL Chemicals brands Kelphos Plus, Kelphos Gold, and NPK 10:26:10, which did not meet the necessary test parameters, all fertilizers being distributed, according to a statement, meet the required quality requirements.

The ministry advised farmers who purchased or now own fertilizer from KEL Chemicals to stop using it right away and to contact their local NCPB office for more information.

While it intensifies its investigation into the false fertilizer issue, the Ministry of Agriculture has instructed NCPB to replace all of the inferior fertilizers that were given to farmers.

Before their scheduled arraignment on Thursday, the first group of suspects to be charged was taken into custody.