Former Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has broken his silence over his sacking by President William Ruto, blaming five UDA legislators from his Kisii community for the move.

Machogu said he was sacked after he resisted and refused to engage in corrupt deals surrounding the construction of classrooms in 68 schools in Nyamira County under the funding of the Kuwait government.

He said that the five lawmakers wanted him to give them tenders and contracts to build the schools, and when he declined, they started hatching a scheme to fight him politically.

Machogu told mourners in Nyaribari Masaba constituency on Friday, May 23, 2025.

He narrated that the same group went further to write to President Ruto, demanding that he (Machogu) should be sacked and even fronted the name of the person they wanted as a replacement.

“The project was worth Sh1.9 billion, which the MPs wanted to share among themselves by being given tenders and contracts, a move which I strongly rejected,” he added.

Without naming names, Machogu said that the same clique of legislators fought the former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i when he was in government and they are still fighting him following his declaration that he could contest the presidential seat in the 2027 general elections.

“If I could have given in to their fishy and corrupt deals, by now I could be languishing and speaking from a filthy prison,” Machogu noted.

Regretting Ruto

He asked members of the Kisii community to reject the said legislators, who he said lacked the capacity to speak on behalf of the community when it comes to national politics.

Lawmakers from the Kisii community who are elected through the UDA and are said to have celebrated the sacking of Machogu are Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), Silvanus Osoro (South Mugirango), Alpha Miruka (Bomachoge Chache), Japheth Nyakundi (Kitutu Chache North) and Zaheer Chandah (Nyaribari Chache).

A bitter Machogu termed the MPs as people who are driven by jealousy and hate, and whose main agenda was to undermine other leaders politically.

“This crop of leaders doesn’t have the space of the Omogusii in their hearts, as they are only out to use the name of the community to extort money from the president and other leaders who do not mean well for our community,” the former CS added.

Machogu also tore into Ruto’s government for not fulfilling the pledges and promises that he made to the Kisii community during campaigns.

“I regret asking our people to support Ruto’s candidature. I thought that with Ruto’s win, the Kisii community would get development, but it is unfortunate that he is doing the contrary,” he stated.

He asked members of the community to be united and support one of their own for the presidency.