PS Ng’eno set to honour Truphena Muthoni amid backlash

Environment Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno has congratulated Truphena Muthoni just a day after the young activist publicly revealed that bureaucratic delays had prevented her from participating in a scheduled tree-hugging challenge in Brazil.

In a post shared on his official X account on Friday, December 12, 2025, Ng’eno extended his warm congratulations to Truphena, highlighting that the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, through the State Department of Environment & Climate Change, had recommended her for National Honours.

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“Congratulations Truphena. The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry through the State Department of Environment & Climate Change has recommended you for National Honours,” Ngeno wrote.

Truphena’s setback

Truphena, however, had earlier disclosed during the Nyeri Youth Summit on Thursday, December 11, 2025, that she was initially scheduled to undertake her tree-hugging challenge in Brazil between November 10 and 13, 2025.

She explained that she had registered at a private language school in Brazil in preparation for the event, but her participation was thwarted due to administrative obstacles within the Ministry.

According to her, the necessary paperwork was never signed by PS Ng’eno, despite funding having been secured from Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga.

“I was supposed to travel to Brazil on the night of November 10, before the other challenge. I had registered at ABC Private Languages in Brazil and was scheduled to be there between November 10 and 13. There were many reasons why I didn’t go, but the main issue was the Ministry of Environment; PS Ng’eno failed me,” Truphena said.

She described the situation as a failure of due process, stating that she was denied accreditation in time to travel, which she implied amounted to bureaucratic negligence and a form of corruption.

“I feel it was corruption because I was not given accreditation in time. Even if he had granted accreditation to travel without a budget, the Ministry of Health has its own budgets. My Nyeri County Governor, Mutahi Kahiga, provided the funding, yet PS Ng’eno did not sign my papers despite receiving the funds. This is why I ended up doing the challenge here in Kenya instead of Brazil,” she shared.

As a result, Truphena proceeded to carry out her challenge locally in Kenya, culminating in the event at Nyeri that drew national attention and wide acclaim for her resilience and dedication.

Backlash

Following the announcement, Kenyans have taken to social media, particularly X and TikTok, to call out the Principal Secretary, urging him to take accountability for the perceived administrative failures.

Even on the X post where he outlined the Ministry’s plans to honour Truphena, he faced a wave of critical and scathing comments from the public.

However, the Principal Secretary has yet to address these claims directly.