By Daniel Kituku
Senior county officers in Makueni have been cornered over a brewing Kes.11 million scandal at the troubled Kalamba Fruit Processing Factory, after admitting they bypassed laid-down procurement procedures in the purchase of mangoes from farmers.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Investments Committee of the Makueni County Assembly, officials conceded that due process was not followed in the procurement of mangoes allegedly sourced from local farmers.
At the centre of the storm is Joseph Kioko, the interdicted Chief Executive Officer of Kalamba, who admitted before MCAs that regulations governing the purchase of mangoes were ignored.
The admission lays bare a system that operated outside approved agreements and established verification mechanisms — a serious breach in a county where agriculture is the backbone of livelihoods.
The committees heard that more than Kes.11 million allocated for the purchase of mangoes cannot be fully accounted for.
Even more troubling, the officers acknowledged that procedures meant to guarantee that the produce was sourced from genuine Makueni farmers were effectively suspended.
Joel Matheka, the agricultural officer attached to Nzaui–Kilili–Kalamba, told the committee that mango deliveries were allowed at the factory without prior verification of origin. Although he was officially on leave at the time, he admitted that farmers were permitted to sell produce to the factory before confirming whether the mangoes were indeed from Makueni.
That admission strikes at the heart of the county’s long-standing justification for Kalamba — to provide a guaranteed market for local farmers and shield them from exploitative middlemen.
If mangoes were received without verification, the entire integrity of the programme collapses.
The revelations now place accountability squarely on the management of Kalamba and the supervising county department. Public funds were allocated for a specific purpose: to support Makueni farmers.
If that money was spent outside the agreed framework, or without safeguards to ensure traceability, then the issue is no longer administrative oversight — it is a question of financial responsibility.
The Assembly committees are now expected to demand full documentation: procurement records, farmer registers, delivery logs, payment schedules and verification reports.
Anything less would amount to sanitising what is shaping up to be one of the most serious financial integrity questions facing Makueni’s flagship agricultural project.
Kalamba was conceived as a lifeline for farmers. It now finds itself fighting for its own credibility.
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