When he first ascended through the ranks of government, he mastered the art of self-promotion, ensuring his presence was felt in every conceivable media space.
From lengthy newspaper op-eds that read more like personal manifestos than policy blueprints to television interviews where he revelled in his own verbosity, his public engagements often prioritized theatrics over governance.
While others immersed themselves in the complexities of statecraft, he carved out time for the golf course, where political deliberations were often overshadowed by his obsession with perfecting his swing.
His tenure became synonymous with grand pronouncements and choreographed visibility, a performance where leadership was measured less by tangible outcomes and more by the frequency of his media appearances.
Mismanagement and Financial Irregularities
But beneath the polished image, cracks were forming, small at first, easily ignored, until they widened into a chasm too deep to conceal.
When this blog first exposed the staggering rot at the Kenya Vision 2030 Secretariat in 2023, the numbers alone were enough to cause outrage.
Meet Kenneth Mwige: Corrupt Civil Servant Who Earns More Than The President
A civil servant raking in more than the President, manipulating the system to grant himself a salary of Ksh 1.5 million per month while staff suffered under his reign of nepotism and unchecked impunity.
The tenure of Kenneth Mwige as Director General was not merely about financial excess.
It was a carefully orchestrated operation in collusion with the former board, a network of political fixers who shielded him from accountability while he entrenched himself at the helm of the secretariat.
His audacity was brazen.
His contract renewal, which should have been a routine process subject to government approval, was instead rushed through in late 2022, months before it was due to expire.
The outgoing board, whose tenure was ending as a new government prepared to take charge, ensured that Mwige’s grip on the position remained intact.
His name was not just linked to questionable salary allocations but to a network of operatives who had wielded influence in the shadows of government.
His proximity to the powerful insulated him, his ties to State House operatives ensuring that his actions went unchecked even as the country’s oversight institutions, including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), failed to act.
Investigations revealed that Mwige’s influence extended beyond the secretariat, weaving through multiple government agencies where allies in key positions facilitated his schemes.
Procurement processes were manipulated to award tenders to firms linked to his associates, financial records were doctored to obscure the extent of misappropriation, and whistleblowers found themselves targeted through intimidation or strategic dismissals.
It was a system designed to reward complicity and punish integrity, a structure that could not have survived without the silent nods of those in oversight positions.
The board, which should have acted as a check against his excesses, instead enabled them.
Its leadership not only ignored the red flags but actively participated in decisions that cemented his control.
Among those summoned by the EACC as the investigations progressed was Jane Karuku, the then chairperson, whose tenure was marked by her conspicuous silence in the face of mounting allegations.
Documents obtained by investigators painted a damning picture of board-level complicity, with approvals that fast-tracked questionable appointments and financial irregularities that raised serious concerns about governance at the secretariat.
A CEO’s Downfall: How Lawsuits Became Mwige’s Full-Time Job
Fast forward to 2025, and the walls have finally closed in on Mwige.
The once-untouchable CEO now finds himself at the center of a storm that has exposed not only his financial misdeeds but also a deeply troubling personal life marked by deceit, violence, and a relentless pursuit of personal gain.
It all began with a defaulted loan from Stanbic Bank, which led to the public auction of his prime residential property in Makadara, Nairobi.
The property, identified as L.R. No. 209/9440/1362, measures 0.0388 hectares (approximately 0.04645 acres) and is a leasehold interest for 31 years starting from March 2019.
Valued at Ksh 127,778, it features a 5-storey block with 24 one-bedroom units and 2 two-bedroom units.
A public auction notice published by Westminster Commercial Auctioneers on March 25, 2025, announced the sale at Ngara Flats, Suite No. 2, 1st Floor, Ngara Road, Nairobi.
The conditions of the sale were stringent: a refundable bidding deposit of Ksh 100,000 was required, with 10% of the purchase price due immediately upon the fall of the hammer and the balance within 90 days.
Mwige’s attempts to block the sale were swiftly dismissed by the courts, sealing his financial downfall.
Marital Troubles
In a bid to evade responsibility, he turned to the courts, filing a suit against his ex-wife, Winifred Wangari Karani, and her family in Mwige v Karani & 2 others (Commercial Suit E310 of 2024).
He sought to compel Karani to repay the loan arrears of USD 12,965.81 and contribute USD 4,000 per month until a 50:50 repayment parity was achieved, arguing that she, having inherited a substantial fortune from her late parents, should foot the bill.
In a move that stunned legal observers, Mwige further demanded Ksh 100 million as his “share” of Karani’s inheritance, despite having no legal entitlement to her family’s estate.
The High Court, presided over by Justice B.M. Musyoki, delivered a scathing ruling on January 24, 2025, dismissing Mwige’s application in its entirety.
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Open in new tab The court found his claims to be “clouded in controversy with so many grey areas,” lacking the evidence needed to establish a prima facie case with a probability of success.
Justice Musyoki criticized Mwige’s attempt to shift the burden of his financial obligations onto Karani, noting that as a seasoned advocate and high-ranking government official, he should have known better than to enter into alleged agreements without proper documentation or board approval from Akiba Properties (Kenya) Limited, the company that owned the disputed property.
The court also pointed out Mwige’s history of forum shopping—filing similar claims in the Business Premises Rent Tribunal and the Environment and Land Court in Thika—as a “worse abuse of the court process,” further eroding his credibility.
Mwige’s legal claims hinged on an alleged joint venture agreement with Karani to develop a land parcel, LR number 4148/94 (originally 4148/11/76), which Karani inherited from her father.
He claimed to have invested heavily in the property, securing loans totaling Ksh 4,000,000 and USD 343,979.70 from Stanbic Bank to finance pre-project expenses such as approvals from the County Government of Kiambu, professional fees, and squatter resettlement costs.
According to Mwige, the property was converted into a business premises known as Karani Boxpark, generating rental income of Ksh 1,019,343.33 per month, which was intended to repay the loans.
However, Karani and her siblings, sued as administrators of their late mother Edith Wanjiku Gitao’s estate, denied the existence of any joint venture agreement.
Karani clarified that the property was owned by Akiba Properties (Kenya) Limited, a company incorporated by her father in 1973, and that her father had bequeathed his interest in the property to her.
The estate was distributed and confirmed on October 29, 2013, with no objection from Mwige at the time – a fact that undermined his later claims.
She accused Mwige of exploiting her family’s vulnerability during her mother’s illness in 2015, alleging that he placed containers on the property without consent and misrepresented himself as the owner to prospective investors.
The court dismantled Mwige’s narrative, finding it riddled with inconsistencies and devoid of evidence.
Justice Musyoki maintained that a single director or shareholder, such as Karani, could not bind the company without board approval—a legal principle Mwige, as an advocate, should have known.
The judge further noted that Mwige’s awareness of the property’s ownership by Akiba Properties before entering into any arrangements, coupled with his failure to engage the company formally, highlighted his dishonesty and opportunism.
The property was eventually sold to Scolastica Wambui Kibathi for Ksh 40,000,000 in June 2021 – a transaction Mwige contested, claiming its true value was Ksh 60,000,000 and that he had offered to buy it at that price.
The court’s ruling also shed light on Mwige’s troubling personal conduct, revealing a man driven by malice and a desire for retribution.
Karani described a tumultuous marriage marked by Mwige’s cruelty and intimidation, including insults, withholding their children’s school fees, and reporting her to the children’s department.
After she left their matrimonial home on November 30, 2017, and initiated divorce proceedings, Mwige escalated his harassment by filing multiple lawsuits and complaints against her, targeting her former employer, church leadership, the Mombasa Law Society, and the Director of Criminal Investigations.
Justice Musyoki condemned Mwige’s actions as an attempt to “drive a wedge” between Karani and her family, particularly through baseless allegations that she forged her father’s will – claims the family did not contest.
The judge described Mwige’s behavior as “distasteful, disrespectful, and heartless,” accusing him of using the court as a “conveyor belt for frustrations, malice, and bitterness” against his former spouse and her family.
The court’s rejection of his claims left Mwige financially exposed, with the auction of his Makadara property proceeding as a public humiliation for the once-powerful CEO.
The Second Wife
Mwige’s personal turmoil extends beyond his first marriage, with a contentious divorce case against his second wife, Peninah Mwendwa Makena, revealing a shocking narrative of deceit, blackmail, and violence.
Court documents from Divorce Cause No. E007 of 2024 at the Principal Magistrate’s Court at Siakago detail Mwige’s 12-page response to Makena’s cross-petition, in which he accuses her of orchestrating a scheme to extort and kill him for his wealth and property.
Loading...Mwige alleges that he met Makena in 2017 on Links Road, Nyali, Mombasa, after she was expelled from her previous matrimonial home by her then-husband, Silas Wairimu.
He claims Makena misrepresented her background, staging a fake traditional wedding in Nkubu, Meru, on July 16, 2022, with hired actors posing as her family.
Mwige later discovered that her real home was in Ukunda, Kwale County, and that her history was “shrouded in mystery and deep, dark fog,” with multiple identities and residences suggesting a life of deception.
The most explosive allegations center on Makena’s alleged attempts to murder Mwige.
He claims that Makena, who owns pharmacies along Mirema Drive and Thika Road—areas notorious for date-rape drug activities—spiked his drink during a wedding celebration in Embu, leaving him unconscious in a “trial-run murder attempt.”
Mwige recounts a violent incident on June 16, 2024, where Makena allegedly attacked him in a car, dislocating his shoulder and biting his arms, before chasing him with kitchen knives at their Gachuriri family home.
He argues that Makena then broke into his Nairobi house through an “emergency” window she had installed, allowing her relatives to steal matrimonial and government property, which was later recovered by the Kenya Police Service (O.B. No. 15 of 18/6/2024).
Mwige further accuses Makena of extorting millions from him through blackmail, collaborating with the “gutter press” to threaten damaging stories about his personal and professional life.
He claims to have evidence of M-Pesa transactions showing that 90% of the blackmail payments he made through Makena were refunded to her, with 10% retained as a “commission” by her accomplices.
Mwige alleges that Makena’s actions mirror the mysterious death of Julius Kibet Maritim, the husband of her close relative, who died under suspicious circumstances in Eldoret three years prior, suggesting a pattern of targeting wealthy men for financial gain.
While these allegations are part of an ongoing legal dispute, they contribute to the chaotic narrative surrounding Mwige’s life.
Is Kenneth Mwige fit for the job?
Mwige’s worsening legal and financial troubles have cast serious doubt on his ability to continue leading Kenya Vision 2030.
His increasingly erratic decision-making and prolonged absences due to child support disputes and legal battles have disrupted policy implementation, prompting some stakeholders to quietly push for his removal.
Internal sources describe a sharp deterioration in his physical state, noting his considerable weight loss and fatigued appearance.
Once regarded as a composed leader, Mwige is now said to be visibly overwhelmed, with concerns mounting over whether he retains the capacity to sustain the demands of high-level public administration.
Beyond his personal struggles, institutional governance failures under his leadership have raised alarms among policymakers.
Delays in key Vision 2030 projects have been attributed to his distracted and unpredictable leadership style, with senior officials privately questioning whether the programme can remain on track under his tenure.
Further complicating matters, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is reportedly preparing to tighten the noose on Mwige and other high-ranking figures linked to financial irregularities at the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat.
Investigators are said to be scrutinising past allegations of corruption, nepotism, and procurement malpractices, with sources indicating that Board Chairperson Jane Karuku (previously summoned over irregular recruitments) could face renewed scrutiny.
EACC’s renewed focus on Mwige follows earlier findings of unlawful hiring practices, misallocation of public funds, and questionable allowances, which an audit by the Office of the Auditor General previously flagged.
In the wake of this growing pressure, staff discontent has escalated, with multiple unfair dismissal cases now lodged against the Secretariat, further eroding confidence in its leadership.
As these investigations progress and internal dissent builds, discussions over Mwige’s suitability for the role have gained momentum, with some government and private sector stakeholders reportedly lobbying for a leadership overhaul to stabilize the Vision 2030 initiative.
