Silverio Omari
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary nominee Dr. Andrew Mwihia Karanja has refuted claims that he previously served as the personal assistant to the dismissed minister, Mithika Linturi.
These allegations emerged on social media following President William Ruto’s nomination of Dr. Karanja for the ministerial position, which was previously held by Linturi, on Friday, July 19, 2024.
During his vetting by Parliament’s Committee on Appointments, National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah questioned Dr. Karanja about the alleged connection to Linturi. Ichung’wah asked, “When you were nominated, I saw many Kenyans claiming that you used to be the personal assistant to former CS Mithika Linturi. You’ve mentioned working with CSs before; were you Linturi’s personal assistant at any point, or have you worked with him in the ministry?”
Dr. Karanja, expressing surprise, clarified that he had never interacted with Linturi, either personally or professionally. “Being a PA; this one caught me off guard. For the record, I have never met the former CS and I have never been a personal assistant,” he stated.
Dr. Karanja, born in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, 62 years ago, completed his primary education locally before attending Uthiru and Githiga high schools in Kiambu for his secondary education. In 1984, he joined the University of Nairobi, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture in 1987. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the same institution in 1991, and a PhD in Development Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Dr. Karanja began his career in 1987 as an Extension Officer in Baringo. After completing his Master’s, he briefly worked as a Planning Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and as a Lecturer at the then Embu Institute of Agriculture. He also served as an Agricultural Officer at the Coffee Research Foundation in Ruiru for 11 years, eventually becoming an Agricultural Economist and Head of Department.
Later, Dr. Karanja joined the World Bank in Nairobi as a Senior Agricultural Economist and Task Team Leader, managing the global lender’s portfolio in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda. At the World Bank, he led programs supporting Kenyan government initiatives, including policy and regulatory changes that helped establish the Agriculture and Food Authority.
In 2014, Dr. Karanja left the World Bank to venture into consultancy. In 2016, former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him to the Coffee Task Force.
Dj Vnyash
