The Directorate of Criminal Investigations seized 160 bags of fake bean seeds and unmarked bags of fake cotton seeds during a raid in Busia County on Tuesday, September 8.
Speaking after the raid, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah claimed that there was credible intelligence that the scam was perpetrated by the county government, as the fake seeds were recovered in the Nambale Sub-County Agricultural Offices.
Omtatah and his team had accompanied the DCI officers at the scene, alongside officials from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).
"We have confirmed from the agricultural service after they tested the seed that germination did not perform well, some of the bags have weevils, and we have been told that the seed was supplied by the county government of Busia," the senator stated.
Omtatah claimed that the seeds had already been distributed in several parts of the county, but that had been the first time they actually obtained evidence of the said seeds.
The investigation kicked off after the Senator's oversight team received a tip-off that fake seeds were being distributed to farmers.
He then roped in government agencies and kick-started the investigation process.
"We have a whole team of government officials behind us. They are ready to move in and secure the seed and make sure that the Kenyan farmer is protected from this form of unscrupulous merchants who distribute it," Omtatah assured.
This bust comes just days after KEPHIS Managing Director Theophilus Mutui warned farmers to be on the lookout for fake seeds as they prepare for the short rains planting season.
Mutui further warned agrovets against selling these seeds, stating that it would be monitoring the establishments to protect farmers from accessing the seeds.
Inspectors have reportedly been dispatched across the country, and anyone found liable would suffer the consequences, including legal repercussions.
"We have dispatched our inspectors across the country and especially during the short rains around September, October, and any person found selling fake seeds is going to be arrested and taken to court, and charged in line with the Seeds and Plants Varieties Act," Mutui said.
