EMBU, Kenya Oct 11 — Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has dismissed former CS Justin Muturi’s call to abolish National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) bursaries, saying the scheme remains a “lifeline” for vulnerable households.
Speaking during Mazingira Day celebrations at Gituburi Primary School, Ruku termed Muturi’s remarks “misleading” and “disconnected from reality”, insisting that during his two-year tenure as Mbeere North MP, “every student who applied for NG-CDF bursary support received assistance.”
Muturi, a former CS and National Assembly Speaker, had said bursaries “fail to reach all students” and should be scrapped. Ruku countered that the facility has eased fee burdens for parents in the semi-arid constituency and kept learners in school. “It is only people who do not have children in school at the moment who fail to understand what parents are going through,” he said.
The CS also criticised comments he said were aimed at undermining development projects in Mbeere, citing reactions to the recently advertised tender for the Gikuyari–Kiriì–Ishiara road. He urged residents to “choose leaders who support NG-CDF bursaries”, warning that abolishing the fund would jeopardise consistent disbursements to needy students.
Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku joins pupils in planting trees during Mazingira Day on October 10, 2025 at Gituburi Primary School.
Ruku waded into the upcoming Mbeere North parliamentary by-election, urging voters to reject Newton Karish—whom he linked to Muturi’s Democratic Party—and backing UDA’s Leonard Wamuthende. He said constituents “have declared” support for Wamuthende, framing the race as a verdict on bursary support and local development.
Turning to environmental stewardship, Ruku aligned his message with this year’s Mazingira Day theme of citizen-centric tree growing. He encouraged households to adopt daily tree-planting habits, saying in arid and semi-arid areas such as Mbeere North, tree growing is a practical response to climate change and water scarcity. The CS led officials, learners and residents in planting trees at his former school.
He highlighted government plans to promote drought-resistant indigenous species alongside water-harvesting measures—rooftop catchments and community dams—to improve survival rates. Ruku urged schools, churches and institutions to focus on “growing, not just planting” trees to maturity, and rallied residents behind the President’s target of 15 billion trees.
Ruku added that tree growing can create jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities through seedling nurseries and climate-smart agriculture, arguing that environmental conservation is integral to local development.
Muturi had not responded to Ruku’s remarks by press time.