Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has firmly dismissed claims by Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu that she wields no real power within her ministry, a statement he made on Sunday during a church service in Kahawa West.
Nyutu’s remarks suggested that several Mount Kenya leaders, including Wahome, have been marginalized or sidelined within the Kenya Kwanza government.
Senator Nyutu listed prominent Mount Kenya leaders, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Senior Economic Advisor to the President Moses Kuria, and former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi, implying they had all seen reductions in influence or responsibility.
He further argued that Wahome’s authority was effectively overridden by Principal Secretaries within her ministry, who allegedly “have no regard for her.”
Responding on X (formerly Twitter), Wahome stated that her focus remains on governance and service delivery rather than power struggles.
“I am more interested in service delivery and governance, not power,” she wrote, advising Nyutu to avoid involving her in political matters.
Wahome’s response came from Baku, Azerbaijan, where she is attending the COP29 climate conference to represent Kenya in high-level environmental discussions.
The back-and-forth reflects growing tensions among Mount Kenya leaders, some of whom feel the region has been sidelined since President William Ruto’s election.
The discontent has deepened since Gachagua’s ouster, with claims that further efforts are underway to remove leaders aligned with the former Deputy President from influential positions.
During the church service, Gachagua himself voiced frustrations, accusing President Ruto of betrayal and vowing to reconsider alliances within the government.
Nyutu, addressing Ruto directly, noted that allies who supported his campaign should not be “banned” from power, attributing recent actions to misguidance by certain advisors.
