Tension is rising in Kilome, Makueni County after residents staged peaceful demonstrations at Kasikeu Market on Friday demanding the reinstatement of former Agriculture County Executive Committee Member (CEC) Elizabeth Nduge Muli.
Carrying placards and chanting slogans, the residents openly criticized Mutula Kilonzo Jr. over what they termed as an unfair and humiliating dismissal of the county official who until recently served as CEC for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development.
The protests follow a formal communication from the governor’s office earlier this week announcing Muli’s removal from the powerful agriculture docket, a move insiders have linked to the controversial mango sector management scandal that surfaced earlier this year.
However, demonstrators from Kilome — Muli’s home turf — rejected the narrative surrounding her removal, insisting the decision was driven by malice and political interests rather than accountability.
Residents questioned why the governor personally recruited Muli from the national government, where she previously served at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), only to dismiss her barely a few years later.
“Why bring her all the way from KEMSA to serve this county and then dump her back to the villages without a job?” one protester asked during the demonstrations.
The demonstrators further issued a thinly veiled political warning to Governor Mutula, saying the people of Kilome will remember the decision at the ballot in the next general election.
In a strongly worded statement during the protests, the residents declared they were ready to chart a different political path, accusing the governor — whom some protesters described as a “greenhorn politician” — of disregarding the interests of the sub-county.
The protests also opened a broader attack on the county administration, with residents questioning how billions of shillings allocated to Kilome over the past four years have been utilized.
According to the demonstrators, little development can be seen on the ground despite significant county funding directed to the area since Governor Mutula assumed office.
The growing backlash now threatens to turn the dismissal of Elizabeth Muli into a major political storm within Makueni, potentially reshaping local political alliances as the region slowly begins to position itself ahead of the next general election.
So far, Governor Mutula’s administration has not responded to the protests, while the county government maintains that the decision to remove Muli was made within the legal powers granted to the governor under the law
