NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 27 – Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has described the attack on the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in Maua, Meru County, as “a direct assault on Kenya’s food security.”
Kagwe noted that looters made away with bags of fertilizer intended to support farmers during the current planting season.
He stated that the reckless act jeopardizes the ability of farmers to grow food, feed their families, and contribute to the national economy.
“This fertilizer is a vital input for farmers across the region. Its loss threatens to trigger a catastrophic crisis for both food crop and cash crop production,” Kagwe said.
Preliminary assessments indicate that over 7,354 bags of fertilizer—each weighing 50kg and valued at more than 29.5 million shillings—were looted from the depot.
He cautioned the country’s youth against confusing the exercise of their constitutional rights with acts of anarchy.
Kagwe regretted that what began as peaceful demonstrations had been hijacked by criminal elements.
“Those who rob, destroy, and loot critical public installations such as the NCPB are not demonstrators; they are criminals and anarchists, and they must be treated as such,” he stated.
The CS urged the National Police Service to act swiftly in apprehending those responsible for the looting and vandalism, recovering the stolen fertilizer, and ensuring the perpetrators are prosecuted in accordance with the law.
“Such actions undermine the legitimacy of peaceful protest and abuse our democratic space. Just as brutality and loss of life are unacceptable, so too is the wanton destruction of public property and the theft of critical agricultural inputs. Let us protect our democracy by ensuring it never deteriorates into anarchy,” Kagwe emphasized.
