Nominated Senator Veronicah Maina has defended Deputy President Kithure Kindiki over his active involvement in the just-concluded by-elections conducted across the country on November 27, 2025.

Speaking to a local TV station on Thursday, December 4, 2025, Maina argued that the DP was within his rights to engage in political campaigns as the Deputy President of Kenya.

The issue emanated from the ongoing debate over the extent to which holders of public offices influenced the outcome through engaging state machinery.

Misuse of state machinery

State officers have come under sharp focus for taking active roles in the political lobbying before and during the mini-polls in clear contravention of rules and regulations governing their conduct. with the DP, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and Speaker Moses Wetang’ula among those singled out.

Maina, however, shielded the state officers’ involvement even as she acknowledged the need to have more elaborate rules to spell out and regulate gray areas on the matter.

“Kindiki was performing his role as the Deputy Party Leader of UDA in Mbeere North. The laws allow him to be a deputy party leader. Were it not the case, it would be explicitly stated. It is the same ranking within the UDA party that made him rise to the position he holds as the Deputy president,” she stated.

Her remarks come days after the opposition blamed their loss on the heavy presence of government machinery and voter bribery.

Linturi on government expenditure

Speaking on Saturday, November 29, 2025, former Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi sensationally claimed that the government spent monumental sums in the regions of Ksh600 million in the sole parliamentary by-elections in Mbeere North.

The former Agriculture CS opined that the expenditure could have sufficed the campaign for 60 members of parliament.

“Kuja kupigana kutafuta kiti ya mbunge. 600 million has been spent kutafuta kiti ya MP. In normal circumstances, sababu nimeomba kura, we spend around 10 million. Kutafuta kiti ya whole constituency. 600 million means 60 members of parliament. Ile pesa imetumika hapa Mbeere North.”