Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has now distanced himself from meetings by a section of his colleagues purportedly geared towards development of the Mt. Kenya region.
The CS, who spoke in Kwale County on Wednesday, feigned ignorance of the happenings in Nairobi, instead restating his allegiance to both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto as leaders of the government.
“Those of us who were employed were given work by the government of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto… and that is the work we’re continuing to deliver on,” said Kiunjuri.
“…Mtaendelea kuskia mengi, mengi lakini mimi nataka kukaa chini ya maji.”
[“You will continue to hear a lot, but I want to step aside from it.”]
CS Kiunjuri’s perceived indifference has now been read to symbolize the division in Cabinet where allegiance questions have come to the fore.
This comes in the midst of allegations by DP Ruto that four CSs – Peter Munya (Trade), Sicily Kariuki (Health), Joe Mucheru (ICT) and James Macharia (Transport) – held a meeting at Hotel La Mada on Thika road to plot his assassination.
The Peter Munya-led group however, addressing the press outside the Directorate (DCI) headquarters on Monday, dismissed the allegations saying their meetings were geared towards addressing grievances by leaders from the Mt. Kenya region.
Munya further said that among the agenda on their meeting was also claims by the region’s leaders that Cabinet Secretaries from the area are inaccessible.
Questions have since arisen as to why CS Kiunjuri, who also hails from the region, was not invited to such gatherings.
“He (Kiunjuri) wasn’t at the meeting…maybe he is accessible, I don’t know. There were complaints about certain issues about agriculture but many of them relating to me about cooperatives. I didn’t have any specific issue about agriculture relating to him,” Munya has since said.
