Just a couple of years ago, the court proceedings in a case that pitted Meru senator Mithika Linturi against former Chief of Staff in the Deputy President’s office Maryanne Keitany were broadcast live on TV. These proceedings made Linturi appear like a street-smart smooth operator, while Keitany looked like a gullible village bimbo who had just been easily swindled hundreds of millions. However, now, within a space of just mere weeks, the positions of these two have changed so drastically that heads have been left spinning.
The Meru county gubernatorial seat seemed up for grabs between Governor Kiraitu Murungi and CS Peter Munya. However, abruptly and unexpectedly, Munya pulled out of the race and strongly suggested that he would be throwing his weight behind Kiraitu. This left the DP’s camp fazed and confused. In what seemed like a knee-jerk reaction, Meru senator Mithika Linturi immediately announced that he would be vying for the gubernatorial seat.
Anyone who knows the political dynamics between the Imenti and Meru north regions, and what Munya’s support for Kiraitu means, would automatically know that save for a miracle, it’s almost something of a certainty that Linturi cannot beat Kiraitu.
Likewise, anyone who knows the political sway that the United Democratic Alliance party holds in Rift Valley will appreciate the fact that winning a UDA nomination ticket is as good as winning the election. This, premised against the background that Maryanne Keitany won the Eldas constituency UDA to ticket, means that for all intents and purposes, she is the next Eldas member of parliament.
What this means in essence is that despite the positions the two held a couple of years ago where Linturi was a member of parliament while Keitany was a clueless ordinary citizen, the reverse is now soon to be the case. Keitany will be a member of parliament while Linturi will be an ordinary citizen.
Ms Kitany, a former chief of staff in Deputy President William Ruto’s office, moved to court seeking protection after the Linturi threw her out of a Kileleshwa house.
The court heard that the two were married under Meru customary law on April 16, 2016, followed by ceremonies conducted later in December of that year. Before getting married, they had cohabited in her house in Kileleshwa.
She said they bought the Mae Ridge Villa property in 2015 and the architectural drawings were in her name and that she supervised the construction.
But Mr Linturi denied marrying her and maintained that he was married to another woman. He allegedly met her in 2013 and she asked him to accommodate her temporarily in one of his houses and also to allow her to establish a small office in one of his companies.
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