So it was rather surprising when he was said to have a sent a text message supporting the recent changes within Ford-Kenya, a party that he helped mould in 1990s.
As the seventh secretary-general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Dr Kituyi still has 14 more months to go before his second-term ends on August 31, 2021, and is removed from both the national and party politics.
At best, he is still Kenya’s highest ranking diplomat within the UN system, a lofty role that allows him to hobnob with heads of states and governments. At worst, he is removed from succession turmoil that has seen political parties start regrouping ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s exit.
Whether Dr Kituyi will return soon — before the end of his tenure — has been the talk of the town, and whether he will take up any position in the national government is being watched closely by political pundits since he remains the most senior politician from western Kenya holding an international position.
The last time he appeared on national television talk-show, he paid tribute to President Kenyatta for kick-starting the war on corruption and challenged Kenyans to draw a line that “from this moment, no thief should be elected into public office. We must expunge thieves from public office,” he said.
