Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Andrew Karanja has cleared the air about the perceived relations with former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi.
Karanja said he has never been a personal assistant to Linturi as has been claimed.
“This one caught me by surprise. For the record Mr Speaker sir and honourable members, I have never met the former minister for Agriculture and I have never been a PA,” he said on Friday.
Karanja was the first to be vetted by the Committee on Appointments on day two of the exercise.
There have been reports that the nominee once served as PA to Linturi.
While fielding questions from members, the nominee said he would work closely with the counties to seal the gaps in the ministry and address issues facing farmers.
"We need the support of the counties, we need to do capacity building. We can have a summit with the agriculture committees where we can address challenges in the sector," he said.
The vetting is being chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang'ula.
Four other nominees will face the vetting panel.
Karanja holds a PhD in Development Economics and Policy from Wageningen University, Netherlands, Certificate in Development oriented Research in Agriculture and a Master of Agricultural Economics from the University of Nairobi.
