Editor's Review

Six governors from the coastal region have declined to honour a meeting called by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi to resolve issues around muguka ban.

Six governors from the coastal region have declined to honour a meeting called by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi to resolve issues around muguka ban.

In a letter dated June 2, the governors of Kilifi, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Lamu and Tana River dismissed the request claiming that the CS would be an impartial arbitrator.

"We regret to inform you that the six-member County Governments of Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani Economic Bloc duly represented by the undersigned governors, jointly decline to attend the proposed forum scheduled for June 6, 2024. As the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, you have publicly pronounced yourself on the Constitutional and legal positions taken by Mombasa, Kilifi and Taita County Governors to ban Muguka,” read part of the letter.

“Recognizing Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani as a consuming region with interests in both socio-economic and health security, we respectfully conclude that you are constrained in being an impartial arbiter on this subject,” the letter further stated.

The county bosses additionally asserted that the matter had ignited a national debate and was thus of extraordinary public interest.

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Mithika Linturi.

They maintained that any further consultations on the issue should be led by the Head of State and include key stakeholders like the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) and the Ministry of Health.

"We request and invite your support towards a consultative meeting with the head of State to include the Cabinet Secretaries of Health, Internal Security and Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet," the governors stated.

The letter was signed by all the governors except Tana River Governor Godhana Dhadho Gaddae.

On Tuesday, May 28, President William Ruto held a phone conversation with coastal governors Abdulswamad, Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi), and Andrew Mwadime (Taita) over the ban of muguka in their counties.

The Head of State disclosed that they agreed to participate in a meeting of all stakeholders to be convened by the Ministry of Agriculture, a meeting the governors have now declined.