Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has called for treason charges against sellers of fake seeds, arguing that they pose a threat to national food security.
Speaking in Nyeri on Wednesday, November 5, during the launch of the modern Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) facilities, Kagwe urged Parliament to pass laws imposing the highest and most serious charge in the Constitution for those involved in counterfeiting seeds and selling uncertified nursery materials.
“Anyone selling fake seeds is deliberately sabotaging the country. You are risking a national food crisis,” he expressed.
“That is economic sabotage, and it should be treated as treason. We will immediately arrest those involved,” Kagwe added.
Kagwe made the bold proposal while announcing a national crackdown on sellers of fake seeds, urging security agencies to intensify crackdowns on the perpetrators of the offence.
The CS also urged farmers to only buy certified planting materials, stressing that counterfeit products hamper their cultivation efforts.
In the Kenyan law, treason is enshrined in Articles 24 and 25 of the Penal Code (Cap 63, Laws of Kenya). It is defined as the crime of betraying one’s nation or its sovereignty.
Treasonous crimes include levying war against the Republic of Kenya, assassinating or attempting to harm the President, aiding enemies of the state during war or conflict, and conspiring with others to overthrow the government by force. Its punishment is the death penalty, the heaviest possible punishment under Kenyan law.
The last people convicted and executed for treason in Kenya were Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu after the 1982 coup attempt. Since then, treason charges have occasionally been threatened but not successfully prosecuted in court.
At the same time, he issued a stern warning to thieves targeting agricultural farms, including those cutting down coffee trees and destroying avocado and macadamia plantations.
“Even as you steal, use your brains. What will you steal tomorrow after you cut down the coffee trees? The long arm of the law will catch up with you,” Kagwe warned.
To that effect, he revealed that the Ministry was pushing for the re-establishment of the agricultural police to protect farmers.
He further cautioned coffee hawkers who illegally buy cherry directly from farmers, saying the practice, often traded for alcohol, exploited farmers and undermined formal markets.
