Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, declared his net worth at Ksh842 million
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kagwe said his riches were mainly made of assets.
The former Health Cabinet Secretary who served under the Jubilee administration explained that his Ksh842 million empire sprawled in real estate and pieces of land in various parts of the country.
He, however, did not give a breakdown of how much of the assets accounted for before adding up to Ksh842 million.
“Essentially my wealth is in assets- is in real estate and is in pieces of land here and there accumulated over many years,” Mutahi Kagwe told the National Assembly Committee on Appointments led by Speaker Moses Masika Wetang’ula.
Mutahi Kagwe: My net worth would be around Ksh. 842M, my wealth is in real estate and pieces of land accumulated over the years.#K24Siasa pic.twitter.com/4D4Pqw6IGZ
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) January 14, 2025
Ksh174.2 million growth
From the current figure, Kagwe’s wealth recorded a growth of Ksh174.2 million.
While appearing before the same committee when he was being vetted for the Health docket, Kagwe placed his wealth at Ksh667.8 million.
The former Nyeri Senator attributed this to his sprawling empire borne out of hard work.
He told the committee that he started amassing wealth while still a student at the University of Nairobi where he conducted various feasibility studies.
“I am worth what I am worth as a result of my hard work. I started doing feasibility studies in my room at Hall 2 at the University of Nairobi and for over 40 years I must have made some money,” Kagwe told the committee then.
He added that two of his companies generated a combined profit of Ksh5.4 million in 2019 alone.
Five years down the line, Kagwe’s wealth recorded a jump of Ksh174.2 million which he did not immediately explain how it happened.
After former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kagwe had been in the cold, only making rare public appearances.
However, after President Ruto met Uhuru at his Gatundu home, the Kenya Kwanza administration tapped into Kagwe’s expertise with the hope of reviving the agricultural sector bearing in mind his stellar performance at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If approved, one of his biggest task would be selling the idea of livestock vaccination which had so far been opposed by a section of the leaders.
During the vetting exercise, Kagwe vowed to make the livestock vaccination drive optional if approved by the House.
“On the livestock vaccine, we need to involve all relevant stakeholders with the right information. The owner of the livestock has a choice on whether their livestock should or should not be vaccinated,” Kagwe stated.
“I will use the experts to communicate the issue and to help demystify the misconceptions around the vaccine,” he added.
