Jubilee Youth Chair Advice Mundalo Asks CS Linturi To Resign: "Unatubeba Ufala"

• Jubilee Youth Chairman Advice Mundalo joined the quarters mounting pressure on Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi to resign
• Linturi found himself on the spot after it emerged that bags of substandard fertiliser under the government subsidy programme were being supplied to farmers
• This was after Africa Uncensored ran an investigative documentary which revealed that the inputs contained diatomaceous elements, some livestock refuse and stones

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi: Jubilee Party National Youth Chairman Advice Mundalo has asked Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi to pack his belongings and leave the office over the fake fertiliser scandal.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke on Friday, April 12, Mundalo expressed disappointment in Linturi's performance and demanded that he exit the office and offer an unreserved apology to Kenyans for letting them down.

"The CS should take political responsibility and exit that office before the president acts. It's unbelievable that despite everyone in government acknowledging that we have fake fertiliser in the market, including the president himself, the CS is still in denial," said Mundalo.

The communication strategist argued that Linturi has not only failed Kenyans but has also let down President William Ruto whose government has invested heavily in Agriculture.

"The president is passionate about agriculture, and we have seen him invest a lot of resources in fertilizer to make it affordable for farmers, but we have a CS whose only simple task is to distribute that fertiliser to farmers, but has failed. What else can we expect from him?" Posed Mundalo.

Fake fertiliser in Kenya

The fake fertiliser scandal was unravelled by investigative journalist John Allan Namu about two months ago.

The award-winning journalist said the expose' was aired after a thorough investigation that lasted for over a year.

Linturi dismissed the report terming it sensational, untrue and misleading. He went further to castigate Namu, calling him "a crook" who had cooked a story to taint his reputation.

A few days later, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua acknowledged that about 50, 000 bags of fake fertiliser had been discovered in the market.

Ruto also acknowledged the presence of fake fertiliser in the market and issued a stern warning to state officers and unscrupulous businesspeople involved in the scheme.

On April 9, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a statement acknowledging that fake fertiliser had been detected and suspended eight officials from the Kenya Bureau of Standards for allegedly allowing the corporation's quality assurance stamp to be used to qualify the fake fertiliser as genuine.

What does Jubilee official want Linturi to do?

The ministry, however, contradicted Gachagua's statement that 50,000 bags had been discovered, stating instead that only 3,000 bags were found to be fake.

When he appeared before Parliament to answer questions regarding the scandal, Linturi maintained that there was no fake fertiliser in Kenya.

When a farmer who had been invited by the House as a witness brought a sample of the said fake fertiliser, the CS changed tune and claimed it was not fake but "substandard".

Mundalo, seemingly pissed off by Linturi's cat-and-mouse games on the sensitive matter, demanded his immediate replacement.

"What CS Linturi is doing to Kenyans is what we say in Swahili "kutubeba ufala" (taking as for granted) and there must be consequences to that. Kenya has no shortage of competent men and women who can take over that docket and serve the country diligently," said the former Bungoma senatorial aspirant.

Ruto has since ordered the compensation of all farmers who were supplied with the fake fertiliser.

Inside fake fertiliser saga in Kenya

• An alarm was sounded following a probe by Africa Uncensored, whose journalists unearthed the government's misdeeds in distributing subsidised fertilisers to farmers.
• The input brand in question is BL-GPC Original, which was stocked in the National Cereals and National Produce Board (NCPB) depots before KEBS recalled them.
• Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi however dismissed the assertion the fertiliser was fake, saying it only fell short of the requisite standards.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

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Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi (left) and Jubilee Youth chair Advice Mundalo (right).

Jubilee Youth Chair Advice Mundalo Asks CS Linturi to Resign

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