Former Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary, Mithika Linturi, has criticized President William Ruto over his recent government appointments.
Speaking at a gathering in Meru County on Sunday, December 22, Linturi expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that the latest appointments lack fair representation.
“We are tired of being taken for granted and treated as second fiddle. We are very important people. Our 800,000 votes must count, and we are now wiser than before. We were lied to, and we felt the effects,” Linturi said.
He added that the current administration’s actions have made people in the region more vigilant to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Linturi criticizes Ruto for leaving out the Meru Community in latest appointments
“When Moi was President, he used to say that when a deceitful man wants to marry a woman, he will lie during courtship to win her heart.
I want to tell the current administration that although we were hoodwinked to join this administration as Merus without any formal agreement— while others signed formal agreements through their political parties— if this is the respect we are being shown now, we are enlightened, and we are also intelligent,” Linturi stated.
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The former Agriculture CS has become the first Ruto ally who was replaced in the Cabinet to publicly criticize President Ruto, while others who were replaced have remained silent since their ouster.
Linturi’s sentiments were echoed by former Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, who lamented that the Meru community has not been given a fair share in the Kenya Kwanza government despite overwhelmingly voting for it.
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“How has Meru disappeared from the national map of Kenya? We are number four in providing a multitude of votes for any government. We are saying the Meru people are tired of being taken for granted,” Kiraitu said.
Kiraitu’s and Linturi’s remarks come after President Ruto, on Thursday, December 19, nominated several allies of former President Uhuru Kenyatta to various government positions, all of whom hail from the Mount Kenya region.
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Former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui was nominated as the CS for the Investment, Trade, and Industry, while former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo was picked as the CS nominee for Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy.
Additionally, Ruto selected former Health CS Mutahi Kagwe as the CS for Agriculture and Livestock and nominated former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
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