Cabinet Secretary Nominee Mithika Linturi Puts His Net Worth at Sh1.2 billion

Cabinet Secretary nominee Mithika Linturi has put his net worth at Sh1.2 billion, which he expects to grow by over Sh1 billion in a year when court awards and money owed from services rendered to the government are factored in.

Linturi, who is the Cabinet Secretary nominee for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Co-operatives Ministry, said his wealth comes from investments in properties, ownership of vehicles, membership in Saccos, and shares in different companies.

“The movable assets that I own include properties that are developed, vehicles available for my personal use and the number of shares I own in the various Sacco institutions including the Parliamentary Sacco; directorship in different companies where I am one of the largest shareholders, and all this total to the tune of around Sh1.2 billion,” Linturi said during vetting by the National Assembly Appointments Committee on Friday.

“My current incomes are the money that I get out of rental income, out of businesses that I do. I am a dairy farmer, I keep cows and goats, I do sukuma wiki, and the amount of money I am expecting to get in the near future is beyond Sh1 billion.”

The former Meru County senator explained that he is expecting income from court awards and compensation from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for wrongful prosecution.

“I have court awards that I have been taxed and not been paid; one that I’m trying to deal with is that EACC owes me money for wrongful prosecution. The other is the government for failure to pay for works done and that is what contributes to beyond a billion shillings,” he added.

Linturi told the panel that he has a total of 35 cases in court but maintained that all of them are civil in nature and that he has never once been prosecuted. As such, he said any concerns about his integrity are baseless until the courts determine otherwise. He insisted that he was a victim of a witch hunt by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

"I am an open book, in fact those that write and say I have a litany of cases is an understatement. As I sit here I have 35 cases in court, but they are all civil in nature," he said.