A photo of ex-IEBC Commissioner Abdi Guliye at an event at Statehouse Nakuru on Wednesday has continued to raise eyebrows with some Kenyans speculating about his new role.
In the photos shared by President William Ruto on his official page Wednesday, Guliye is seen seated alongside other guests and government officials during the event.
The meeting brought together stakeholders in the dairy sector.
“At State House, Nakuru, engaged milk processors, captains of milk industry and farmers on the transformation of the dairy sector to enhance competitiveness and expand value-added opportunities,” Ruto said in the post.
Among those in attendance were Cabinet Secretaries Mithika Linturi (Agriculture), Rebecca Miano (Trade), Governor Susan Kihika, and New KCC managing director Nixon Sigey among a host of MPs and other leaders.
While it remains unclear what role the former official has been offered, his presence at the State House meeting has ignited a debate online with some of those who commented alleging that he now works at the Office of the President.
In a post, a user on X identified as Gabriel Oguda claims that “The President of the Republic of Kenya held a meeting with stakeholders in the dairy industry...no prizes for guessing the guy to your far left on the front row.”
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai quickly responded by claiming that “Confirmed. Guliye now works in Statehouse.”
Another X user Ahmed Dugal, however, appeared to explain his presence claiming that Guliye was representing the pastoralists.
“The camel dairy farmers...our camels too have milk,” he wrote.
Guliye and Boya Molu are the only two commissioners who affirmed Ruto’s win even as others “refused to be part of the final tallying process.”
During the meeting, Ruto stated that the dairy industry forms an important part of our economy, “Yet, its full potential remains largely untapped due to a myriad of constraints including poor value chain coordination.”
He said they agreed that the government would distribute the 650 coolers to farmers through cooperative societies who will be linked to processors in our new plan to improve quantity, quality and price of milk.
“The adoption of game-changing approaches will rebuild the enterprise, spur production of quality milk and multiply the exports of processed dairy products,” he said.