Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh has come out to deny claims that Russia donated ready-to-use fertiliser and the government sold it instead of distributing it to farmers.
Speaking on Monday, April 14, 2025, PS Ronoh revealed that Russia only donated fertiliser-making components.
The PS explained that the government was then compelled to do fresh tenders, allowing local manufacturers to use the component from Russia to process ready-to-use fertiliser.
“For anybody to say that we got free fertiliser, donated and we sold, as a Ministry of Agriculture, we want to say, we did not get fertiliser first of all, it was a component for making fertiliser. If we are again to be given the same substances for making fertiliser, we would still repeat the same. We will tender, we will look for a manufacturer, and use the same component to manufacture fertiliser,” PS Rono affirmed.
Gachagua’s claims
The PS response came after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua fingered President William Ruto’s administration for repackaging and selling the said fertiliser.
In a tell-it-all interview, Gachagua claimed that the government sold the farm input meant for donations to farmers.
“The Russian government gave us 40,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, but the government blended and sold the donated fertiliser from Russia, which was processed and sold to Kenyans. The fertiliser that came from Russia, which was to be given free of charge, was sold to farmers,” he said.
“These donations were handed to some companies and then resold to the government at market rates, pocketing billions,” he said.
However, PS Rono has clarified what happened after the said input docked in the country in a move to clear the air.
The over 600,000 bags of input were processed before being released to the market, the ministry insisted. The PS, however, did not delve deeper to explain whether it was sold after processing, and if so, the amount was capped for each bag.
Fertiliser scandal
The donation was clouded with controversies, including the fake fertilizer scandal that blew up during former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi’s reign. Farmers across the country lamented over receiving substandard input, forcing the government to open a probe.
An impeachment motion was also tabled against Linturi, who was, however, saved by the MPs.