'I have 35 cases in court': CS nominee Mithika Linturi put to task over his legal woes

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee Mithika Linturi has sought to offer more insight into the legal suits currently lodged against him, which he says are 35 in total.

Speaking on Friday when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Appointments for vetting, Linturi maintained that all the cases are civil in nature, and that he has never once been prosecuted, as such any concerns about his integrity are baseless until the courts determine otherwise.

His sentiments came after Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi intimated that the former Meru Senator might be ethically ambiguous since he has been accused of rape and forgery in the past.

Linturi was in January 2021 accused of attempting to rape a woman in Nanyuki, but the alleged victim on October 3, 2022 opted to withdraw the case after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the former lawmaker.

In the same year, he was also accused of falsifying signatures to secure a Ksh.530 million overdraft using properties belonging to his estranged wife Marianne Kitany, an accusation he vehemently denies.

Linturi maintained his innocence throughout his address on the floor of the House, insisting that he was the victim of a Directorate of Criminal Investigations-led (DCI) witch hunt.

"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.

According to Linturi, while following up on the rape allegations, DCI officers allegedly abducted him and attempted to extort him.

“The DCI decided that Mithika must be turned into a victim. It is just last week when the DCI came to my office and even brought the cash bail they had recovered because immediately I was abducted and I was released after giving Ksh.200,000 and they were asking for Ksh.1 million, I reported the matter to Nanyuki DCI offices," he said.

Linturi likewise chimed in on the forgery allegations stating that the DCI ignored to investigate allegations he made that the companies in question belonged to him and not Ms. Kitany.

"I did not forge any documents, this was a situation where the DCI was aiding the complainant who was attempting to take away my investments in this company," he said.

"I was the complainant because my company had been taken away by fraudsters, but in the course of investigations the DCI and other agents had found a way to deal with me then I was also turned again to be a villain."

To further drive his point home, Linturi read an excerpt of the forgery case's affidavit in which Justice Hedwig Ong’udi ruled that the DCI overlooked the former Senator's aforementioned complaints.

"Having found that the second respondent did not fully act or investigate the petitioner's complaint, I direct him to act on the same and forward his findings to the first respondent within 90 days. During the 90 days, the first and second respondents shall not charge or arrest the petitioners. Save for the above then I find no merit in these allegations," said Ong'udi in the affidavit that was also tabled before the vetting committee.