Raila’s fury over fresh maize scam

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By Ben Agina and David Ohito

A fresh scam involving maize worth Sh300 million has surfaced. And Prime Minister Raila Odinga is furious after it emerged that a maize consignment stuck at the Port of Mombasa, and which had been condemned as unfit, is actually fit for human consumption.

The Standard has established that independent lab tests commissioned by the Cabinet sub-committee on food security — chaired by Prime Minister Raila Odinga — have found the maize fit for consumption amid accusations that unscrupulous brokers wanted the maize condemned and later sold in Southern Sudan. The maize that was imported last month to boost the country’s grain strategic reserves at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) was rejected as unfit for human consumption at the height of the controversy about shortage of maize a few days ago.

A report by Intertek says the maize is fit for human consumption. The report, which indicates the client as the Office of the Prime Minister, says the consignment is free of aflatoxin as earlier indicated. The maize will now be released to the market for consumption.

The new move negates the position adopted by Public Health and Sanitation Minister Beth Mugo and Dr Kioko Mang’eli of Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).

The latest development came soon after Cabinet ministers William Ruto and Naomi Shaban were interrogated by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) over another unresolved maize saga.

Feed processing

On February 16, Mang’eli wrote to the Managing Director of NCPB Prof Gideon Misoi, saying the maize would be released to the importer.

The letter said: "The dry-shelled maize shall be released provisionally to enable you undertake further drying to the permitted moisture levels. However, the batch with high discoloration shall be released for animal feed processing."

Two days later on February 18, Mang’eli wrote to NCPB MD saying subsequent tests had showed high level of chemical contamination of aluminum phosphide.

"The above chemical when not dissipated by washing/cleaning in water, as is the case during processing of animal feeds, is likely to cause toxicity to the animals being fed on such compounded feeds.

Mang’eli declared the consignment unfit for humans and animals and ordered the maize reshipped to South Africa.

The latest tests put Mugo on the spot over her move to order the maize consignment of 6,350 tonnes shipped back to South Africa.

Said Mugo in her verdict: "The maize is unfit for human consumption and contravenes the provisions of Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act and should be reshipped back to country of origin."

Mugo said the Government could not compromise the lives of Kenyans.

A certificate of inspection by Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) that was asked to do the tests by Mugo’s ministry passed the maize for discharge saying it was fit.

But last night, Mugo maintained that the maize would not be released to the public.

She wondered what interest the Cabinet sub-committee has in this issue and yet the responsibility falls in her docket. Mugo said she was not ready to take any risks.

Saying that the maize has been here since November last year, Mugo wondered why the Cabinet sub-committee would task a private firm (Intertek) to undertake the lab tests yet there are government agencies like Kebs.

Mugo noted that the Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, under whose docked Kebs falls, told the Parliament that his report and that of Mugo were similar. "When this matter came to Cabinet, it was decided that this maize must be destroyed. We are not going back on that," said Mugo.

An analyst with the Government Chemist Mr Mbwagizo Juma also declared the maize as unfit for consumption.

The new revelations cast doubt on the credibility of tests carried out by the standards body.

The report said: "Based on the tested parameters only, the maize conforms to the Kenyan specifications for shelled maize, (KS 01-42-Grade K3)."

The samples were taken from Grain Bulk Handlers in Mombasa on March 2.

The report by Intertek found the maize consignment conforming to specifications for shelled maize.

And yesterday, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture which had been investigating the veracity of the claims made by the Kebs boss, said they had all along "smelt a rat" in the whole maize contamination saga.

Sampled the maize

Committee chairman, Naivasha MP John Mututho said the Kebs and Kephis had sampled the maize offshore before the ship could dock.

Mututho explained that fumigants, which are normally embedded in the hush (storage facility), exploded and poured onto a small fraction of the maize.

Mututho said only one foot of the maize was affected in the process, leaving 39 feet intact.

He wondered why Kebs Managing Director would declare the maize contaminated based on a small percentage and yet the rest was good.

Mututho wondered why Mang’eli continued to insist that the maize was bad for human consumption and yet another government agency Kephis thought otherwise.