A controversial maize farmer alleged to have drawn millions in pay from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has attempted to take her own life.
Caroline Chepchumba reportedly threatened to take poison after she was branded a cartel, and has since been admitted at the Nairobi Hospital with depression.
According to her mother Victoria Rotich, another mass supplier of maize to NCPB, her daughter could not come to terms with the title yet she is a legal supplier.
"She wanted to take poison on what she said was frustrations related to the maize issue. My daughter is currently hospitalised because she was branded as a cartel yet the only thing she did was to supply maize to NCPB,” Rotich is quoted by the Standard.
The family reportedly received close to Sh500 million, with Rotich herself delivering 212,000 bags.
Chepchumba delivered 126,926 bags to the Kisumu depot and was paid Sh96 million with payments of sh223.3 million still pending.
Her siblings, Celestine Chepchirchir and Rodney Kimutai are also on the radar as the police as the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) seek questions.
The issue of irregular payments of maize to farmers who supplied maize to NCPB has since attracted the attention of both Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Uhuru has termed it unbelievable that a small group of persons can deliver such amounts of maize.