The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kakamega County has confiscated 700 bags of counterfeit fertilizer from a depot located in Malava.
Malava OCPD Paul Mwenda told the media that detectives conducted a raid on the store following complaints from locals regarding the suspected commodity.
DCI collected samples of the alleged fake fertilizer to facilitate their ongoing investigation.
Farmers in Malava Constituency, who had already purchased the fertiliser from the County Government, are now demanding refunds after discovering that the tendered fertilizer was reportedly mixed with stones.
Expressing their frustration, Juma Luvisa, a local farmer, stated, “We have discovered that the fertiliser contains stones, and we appeal to the government to reimburse our money so that we can procure alternative fertilizers.”
Nathan Malewa, another affected farmer, recounted his experience, saying that he purchased eight bags weighing 25 kilograms each of the mentioned fertilizer on March 5, only to learn later that it had been mixed with stones.
Milka Mkhwana a farmer remarked that she blended a small sample with water, but it failed to dissolve as both appear to be stones.
Also Read: 30 Arrested in Nationwide Crackdown on Counterfeit Seeds
Fake Fertilizer with Sand
This comes after the Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KEBS) initiated a recall of all fertilizer brands distributed by SBL company and revoked their standardization marks after a report uncovered unethical trading practices by the said manufacturer.
Esther Ngari, the Managing Director of KEBS, elaborated that the bureau made the move following the expose of the company’s deceptive practices of packaging sand and passing it off as genuine fertiliser, deceiving Kenyan consumers.
The deputy chairman of the Kakamega Assembly Agriculture Committee, Geoffrey Sikolia, stated that they lacked information regarding the procurement of the product.
He added that they were never given the opportunity to work alongside the county Agriculture docket.
“I don’t even know the supplier of the fertiliser or from which country it originated but I hear of Dubai being a possible source. We will summon the agriculture executive to shade more light on the source and content of the fertiliser,” he said.
Also Read: Police Recover Stolen Govt Fertilizer in a Church
Kakamega County Defends the Commodity
However, the County Government has dismissed the claims, asserting that the commodity was tailor-made for the county following extensive research.
“Our fertiliser was tailor made, our technical team led by my director farm inputs had moved around within the County and we tested our soils in different forms, even including our partners that are very specific about soils,” Benjamin Adama, the County’s CEC Agriculture, said.
“We learnt that it’s important for our people to get tailor-made fertilizer that we ended up providing specifications to the procurement department to get us the right fertilizer for people of Kakamega.”
