Three senior National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) officials who were accused of being involved in the fake fertilizer scandal have been released on Ksh. 1 million cash bail each.
After entering a not guilty plea to charges of conspiring to defraud farmers by selling 139,688 bags of phony fertilizer valued at over Ksh.209 million, NCPB Managing Director Joseph Muna Kimote, John Kiplangat Ngetich (Corporate Secretary), and John Mbaya Matiri (Chairman, Business Committee) were freed.
On Thursday, the trio appeared before Principal Magistrate Celesa A. Okore of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court. They were charged with ten serious counts of economic crimes, which include abuse of office, applying a standardization mark to a commodity that does not comply with Kenyan standards, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to defraud.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) strongly opposed the accused's release on bail, stating in a statement that "the prosecution, through Evelyn Onunga, had vehemently opposed their release on bail, citing the seriousness of the offences, the strength of the evidence, and the severity of the punishment in the event of a conviction."
Did you read this?
Nonetheless, the accused were all freed on a Ksh. 1 million cash bail or a Ksh 3 million bond plus an equivalent surety.
In her ruling, Magistrate Okore instructed the accused parties to give the court their travel documents and let her know if they plan to leave the area.
A warrant for Josiah Kariuki Kimani's arrest will be issued if he fails to show up in court on May 6, 2024. This is a significant development as Kimani is another suspect who was supposed to appear in court but did not, potentially complicating the legal proceedings.
According to a previous report that was given to the court, Kimani turned off his phones and avoided being arrested.
A pre-trial conference for the case is set for May 20, 2024.
