Kel Chemicals, the company ate the centre of the ongoing parliamentary investigation into counterfeit fertilizers, has made startling claims against high-ranking government officials.
In a session before the National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee, Devesh Patel, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Kel Chemicals, implicated senior government figures associated with the Office of the President, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in the scandal.
Patel recounted a crucial meeting he purportedly attended with these officials, just before his unexpected arrest. He alleged that he was apprehended and held at a police station shortly after the meeting concluded prematurely.
“In the midst of giving my statement, Ms. Esther Ngari repeatedly interrupted, accusing us of producing substandard fertilizer. She threatened to shut down our factories and instructed Mr. Felix Koskei to take action against us,” Patel disclosed.
“Subsequently, Koskei abruptly cut me off and ordered the police to arrest me along with Collins Ng’etich, escorting us to the DCI headquarters in Kiambu. I was arrested without being informed of the charges, denied legal representation, and coerced into providing a statement under pressure. I was later released on a 100,000 police bond.”
Furthermore, Patel claimed that while in police custody, he was compelled to draft a letter confessing to the production and distribution of counterfeit fertilizer.
“I was coerced into drafting a letter admitting to recalling the fertilizer batches,” he asserted.
These accusations from Patel surfaced just a week after Kel Chemicals’ factory underwent an inspection and subsequent closure by Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi, who cited the company’s alleged involvement in the counterfeit fertilizer saga.
