Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny has called for the arrest of Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri over the alleged illegal withdrawal of Sh1.8 billion from the Strategic Food Reserve Fund (SFRF).
The MP has asked Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Director Criminal Investigations (DCI), Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and the Inspector General of Police to probe into the matter allegedly executed by CS Kiunjuri and his PS Prof Hamadi Boga.
“Those who facilitated the withdrawal of the SFR funds without the necessary documentation have to be punished,” said Kuttuny as quoted by Standard.
According to Kuttuny, the withdrawal was against the law provided on the finance management on the strategic food reserve amendment regulation of 2015.
"The CS and his people made the withdrawal to pay off 2017 debts without the resolution of the oversight board contrary to regulations 14(I) and (II) as well as regulation 5(1)(C),’’ said Kuttuny.
He further argued that the money withdrawn was not approved by the board and thus was used to pay cartels.
However, CS Kiunjuri had earlier denied the claims that the sh1.8 billion were illegally withdrawn adding that the money was meant to pay pending bills.
"The instructions were clear that all the pending bills be paid. But the money was not for paying farmers. The money for farmers is still intact,” he said.