Former NCPB Managing Director acquitted, two officials to face Sh 209 million fake fertilizer charges

BY ERIC ABUGA

The court has acquitted former National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Managing Director, Joseph Muna Kimote, for lack of evidence in the sale of substandard fertilizer worth Sh 209 million.

The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court has however, placed on defence two former officials, a businessman, and two companies accused of defrauding the public through the sale of the substandard fertilizer.

Those placed on defence include Joseph Kiplangat Ngetich, former NCPB Corporate Secretary, John Mbaya Matiri, then-chair of the Business Development and Advisory Committee, businessman Josiah Kariuki Kimani, Fifty-One Capitals Limited, and SBL Innovate Manufacturers.

They face charges of conspiracy to defraud the public by passing off soil amendments and conditioners as fertilizer between March 2022 and March 2024.

Kimani, alongside his companies, faces additional charges of forgery, uttering false documents, illegally applying a standardization mark to non-compliant commodities, and using misleading labels in the sale of fertilizer. 

The court heard that forged documents were used to deceive the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), including falsifying agreements and altering permits.

Prosecution also demonstrated that Ngetich and Matiri abused their offices at NCPB by improperly conferring benefits to Mr. Kimani through the execution of agency contracts.

The case was Prosecuted by Everlyn Onunga, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions.

The matter is set for mention on October 16, 2025, to confirm the defense’s position.

The ruling, delivered after Prosecution successfully established a prima facie case, is a significant step in the fight against economic crimes by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and by extension, the Criminal Justice system.