Ghost of Maize scandal haunting as suspect attempts suicide

The cries of the farmers are not in vain. For the longest time this year they have been complaining how people are taking advantage of their sweat.

A woman whose family is accused of illegally receiving Sh500 million from the cereals board is admitted at a Nairobi hospital with depression.

Caroline Chepchumba had threatened to commit suicide, her mother Victoria Rotich said.

Ms Chepchumba is among suspects wanted by police for their role, if any, in the National Cereals and Produce board (NCPB) scandal, in which influential traders allegedly received more than Sh5 billion at the expense of genuine farmers.

Her illness escalated her family’s troubles, as Rotich is also wanted by police. Chepchumba’s brother Rodney Kimutai was arrested and released on a police bond, as authorities questioned how the family was paid Sh500 million.

After months of agony following reports that her name had found its way into infamy, Chepchumba reportedly suffered a mental breakdown last week and threatened to ingest poison.

On the advice of a medic, she was taken to a Nairobi hospital, where she is recovering, according to a confidential source at the health facility.

An audit revealed that Chepchumba supplied 126,962 bags of maize to the Kisumu NCPB depot and was paid Sh96 million. She is still owed Sh223,383,501. Ms Chepchirchir supplied 219,236 bags, pocketing Sh333 million, while their brother pocketed Sh2.2 million.

The family matriarch, a 62-year-old widow, supplied 212,000 bags of the commodity, according to the audit.

It is these payments that have now thrust the family into public limelight, and placed it on the cross-hairs of law enforcement agencies convinced that the family is part of a cartel that fleeced farmers.

In the city hospital, Chepchumba is said to have relapsed into depression upon watching the drama of her brother being arrested in Eldoret, with five NCPB officials and a chief.

The seven were released on a police bond of Sh100,000 each after it was found that the anti-corruption court was not sitting yesterday.

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