Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary nominee Dr. Andrew Mwihia Karanja has dismissed claims that he previously served as the personal assistant to the ousted minister Mithika Linturi.
These allegations surfaced on social media following President William Ruto’s nomination of Dr. Karanja for the ministerial position on Friday, July 19, 2024, a role formerly held by Linturi.
During his vetting before Parliament’s Committee on Appointments, National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah questioned Dr. Karanja about the rumored connection between him and Linturi.
“When you were nominated; I saw many Kenyans purporting that you used to be the personal assistant to former CS Mithika Linturi. You’ve said you have worked with CSs before; were you Linturi’s personal assistant at any point or have you worked with him in the ministry?” Ichung’wah posed.
In his response, Dr. Karanja expressed surprise at the purported connection between him and Linturi, stressing that he has never even interacted with the former minister 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.
Born in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, 62 years ago, Dr. Andrew Mwihia Karanja pursued 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, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture in 1987. He continued his studies at the same institution, earning a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics in 1991. Additionally, Dr. Karanja holds a PhD in Development Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Dr. Karanja began his distinguished career in 1987 as an Extension Officer in Baringo. After completing his Master’s, he worked briefly as a Planning Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and as a Lecturer at the then Embu Institute of Agriculture.
He later served as an Agricultural Officer at the Coffee Research Foundation in Ruiru for 11 years, ultimately becoming an Agricultural Economist and Head of Department.
He then joined the World Bank in Nairobi as a Senior Agricultural Economist and Task Team Leader for the global lender’s portfolio in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda.
At the World Bank, Dr. Karanja led programs supporting Kenyan government initiatives, including policy and regulatory changes that helped establish the Agriculture and Food Authority.
Dr. Karanja left the World Bank in 2014 to venture into consultancy. In 2016, he was appointed to the Coffee Task Force by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
