Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto is now urging leaders from Kiambu County to put aside their personal differences and ambitions for the sake of development.
Speaking at a church service at Jesus Christ Compassion Ministry in Ruiru earlier Sunday, Ruto warned that the public will suffer due to perennial squabbles among elected leaders.
The President said that it was ironic that leaders fighting against each other were all elected on his UDA party ticket, yet a few years down the line, they cannot see each other eye to eye.
“I will not accept the delivery of work in Kiambu to go wrong when we have been elected as the UDA party from the MCA position all the way to the governor under the UDA ticket. When the work of UDA is going wrong, where are we? And then we start blaming each other,” he wondered.
Kiambu County has witnessed rivalry between area MPs and Governor Kimani Wamatangi, with the President using today’s church service to call for an end to the rivalry and public contests.
The rivalry is pitting Governor Wamatangi against Alice Ng’ang’a, popularly known as “Mama Simba”, who has declared interest in the county’s top seat, occasionally degenerating into chaos at public events.
“The work in Kiambu is our job, from the MCA to the governor. We who have been elected by the people of Kiambu—from the MCA, MP, Senator, Governor, Woman Representative, and the President—are the servants of the people of Kiambu and the people of Kenya,” Ruto said.
He added, “If the work in Kiambu goes wrong, we are the ones to be questioned. So I ask you, leaders of Kiambu, not to look at who to blame. If there is work to be done in Kiambu, we all must work together.”
During the event, Governor Wamatangi asked the President to consider compensating traders who have been displaced by ongoing demolitions by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) along Thika Road.
“Mr President, there is this group called KeNHA. You need to call them to a meeting at State House and have a discussion with them. They can just come at night and demolish kiosks. Recently, over 300 traders saw their structures demolished,” Wamatangi said.
He added, “We are not opposed to the projects along Thika Road, including the planned construction of a terminal at Githurai, but we should sit with these people and find a solution for them. Getting Sh10,000 or Sh20,000 to facilitate their relocation won’t be that difficult.”
In his response, President Ruto said, “If a problem has emerged in Githurai, let us not blame each other. We should solve the problem together. We shouldn’t point fingers and say it is so-and-so. There is no one in a lesser position among us here. We are all in government. Who is to be blamed here?”
The President added, “I ask you leaders, let us stop raising accusatory fingers. Let us solve the problem in Kiambu County. You have the responsibility to solve the problem because you are the elected leaders.
