Tanzania’s Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe has launched a scathing attack against Kenyan Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi over the fake fertiliser scandal that has rocked the country.

Ahmednasir had on Thursday claimed that the fake fertiliser distributed to unsuspecting farmers in Kenya had been manufactured and/or procured in Tanzania.

While claiming to act on intelligence, the lawyer had challenged Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi, and the National Cereals and Produce Board to tell Kenyans “the quarry in Tanzania where the goat manure, sand and stones were mixed and in what proportions.”

“Did KRA receive taxes from MEMS or did the fake manure pass through PANYA routes?” Ahmednasir had posed on X, formerly Twitter.

But these comments did not sit well with Minister Bashe, who implored the lawyer to stop associating Tanzania with Kenya’s “hustler culture”.

“Brother, Is this comment intended as part of the usual banter between Tanzania and Kenya, or are you serious? Tanzania is not connected to any fake fertiliser scandal, so please do not associate us with the popular hustler culture,” he said.

The Minister added: “Tanzania does not export counterfeit commodities, including fertilizer, to Kenya. We are well aware of the exact nature of the goods our two companies have exported through official channels.”

 Bashe, who is also a Member of Parliament for Nzega Urban Constituency since 2015, told Ahmednasir to address Kenya’s issues with with shortcuts and questionable practices, insisting that Tanzania’s trade policies are governed by principles rooted in integrity.

“If there is a mess, I recommend you clean it up, do not implicate Tanzania. It is not our way.”