Meru Governor Mutuma M’Ethingia on Friday, March 21 nominated lawyer Linda Kiome Gitonga as his Deputy Governor.
Kiome, who is currently serving as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Vice-chairperson, will have to be vetted and approved by the Meru County Assembly.
According to the County Governments (Amendment) Act, 2020, a governor is obligated to nominated a deputy within 14 days of the occurrence of a vacancy to the county assembly for approval.
Consequently, the county assembly is required to give its recommendation within 14 days, failure to which the nominee will be deemed approved.
But who is Linda Kiome?
Kiome was Mithika Linturi’s running mate in the 2022 General Election. Linturi vied for the Meru gubernatorial seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party ticket.
The ticket of Linturi-Kiome came second with 183,859 votes in a race that was won by independent candidate Kawira Mwangaza (209,148 votes).
In 2022, Kiome was elected to be the acting Law Society of Kenya President, replacing ousted Nelson Havi. At the time, Kiome was the chairperson of the LSK Mt Kenya caucus.
A truce between Linturi and Mwangaza in March 2023 would see KIome appointed a legal advisor at the office of the governor. However, Mwangaza fired her in April 2024.
During Mwangaza’s impeachment at the Senate in August 2024, Kiome acted as a witness, accusing Mwangaza of gross misconduct for allegedly faking a letter that touched on the removal of Meru County Public Service Board Secretary and CEO Virginia Kawira.
