Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has unveiled a new political party, The Service Party (TSP), months after he was dropped from cabinet unceremoniously.
Speaking during the official launch of the party on Wednesday, Kiunjuri said TSP will be a grassroots party that will give the common mwananchi voice.
“We have listened carefully to Kenyans and made the commitment to bring forth a platform that as our name suggests, will be unequivocal about service delivery to our people,” he said.
“TSP believed that Kenya will change dramatically over the next decade. We have the opportunity to pull together and ensure that those changes are fair, inclusive, sustainable and will positively impact our shared destiny.”
TSP party was given a certificate of registration after meeting all the requirements on Tuesday.
Read: DPP Refutes Claims Of Arrest Orders Of Mwangi Kiunjuri
On the day that President Uhuru Kenyatta sacked Kiunjuri in January this year, the former CS told his supporters to remain calm as he was “going nowhere”.
After missing in action for months, the former Laikipia East MP’s move is believed, by many, as an attempt to make a political comeback.
Kiunjuri was the leader of the Grand National Union (GNU) party that merged into the ruling Jubilee party in 2016 ahead of the 2017 General Elections.
The GNU party was formally registered on March 8, 2012.
Read: Former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri Summoned Over Ksh50 Billion Maize Scandal
Kiunjuri contested the Laikipia Gurbanatorial seat in 2013 using the party but lost to Joshua Irungu.
In 2015, Kiunjuri made a comeback to government after he was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning to replace Anne Waiguru who resigned after graf accusations.
President Uhuru moved him from the Devolution docket to Agriculture in 2018 where he served until his sacking on January 14, 2020.
Kiunjuri’s sacking didn’t come as a surprise to a section of Kenyans, who had predicted it owing to his sour relationship with the President.
Read Also: Kiunjuri Splashes Millions In Newspaper Adverts To Respond To Uhuru
The President had in several functions scolded Kiunjuri over irregular payments to Maize farmers.
In October last year, Kiunjuri, a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto, joined a section of mount Kenya lawmakers to poke holes in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a project that the President holds close to his heart. A the time, the President had warned CSs from politicking. To many, this sealed his fate in government.
Kiunjuri was replaced by Trade CS Peter Munya whose docket was taken by Betty Maina.
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