Nyeri governor in sting operations in hospitals
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga says that this helps him understand and relate with the people and he is also able to address the real challenges bedevilling the Nyeri population.
When Mary Ndun’gu bumped into Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga while visiting her daughter at the County Referral Hospital, she was both elated and confused.
“I mean, he is the governor and what would he be doing there? He was just walking around and he even stopped to greet me. It was unexpected,” she recalls.
But unknown to her, it is normal for the Nyeri county boss to make impromptu visits to different parts of the county without large entourages and motorcades.
From walking or driving himself around the towns inspecting roads to checking markets for Covid-19 compliance, stopping in a shopping centre to interact with people or his personal favourite, visiting different hospitals and other health centres in the county, Mr Kahiga says results-oriented actions is a dose of what the county’s different sectors need to deal with governance issues.
The county boss says his greatest drive in life is passion and an insatiable desire to get things done.
When he met Ms Ndun’gu on August 2, Mr Kahiga’s tour of the hospital had been prompted by numerous complaints from members of the public on lack of drugs.
“My visit to the referral hospital, in particular, was prompted by claims on social media and by our senator that there were no drugs in hospitals,” he told nation.africa.
In a video of him at the facility that has been trending online, he is seen confronting a security guard over visits by patients.
He then toured the maternity wing where he was informed that the patients were asked to purchase drugs and medical gloves from outside the hospital.
Rubbed some county leaders the wrong way
“There is someone who is messing us around here by telling people to purchase gloves yet we have boxes of gloves lying in the stores,” he is heard saying on the video.
According to him, the random and unplanned visits reveal the real situation on the ground with wananchi talking about their experiences and what they need.
He says that this helps him understand and relate with the people and he is also able to address the real challenges bedevilling the Nyeri population.
“I do the random visits just to get the real situation on the ground. Wananchi rarely lie. They will give their genuine concerns. I have always visited our hospitals to understand and address any challenges. I engage with the medical workers, nurses, patients and visitors to keep monitoring our performance. I am passionate about our health and endeavour to allocate as much money as is available,” Mr Kahiga added.
But the governor’s new style of governance appears to have rubbed some county leaders the wrong way.
From interviews with wananchi, the governor appears to have gone full circle from a reserved, diplomatic, and cautious politician to a combative leader ready to take on his critics.
Since he joined politics in 2017 after he was picked as a deputy to the late Nyeri county boss Wahome Gakuru, Mr Kahiga had always avoided confrontational politics.
His open attack on his political rivals and competitors in the 2022 governor's race especially Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina has confounded both friend and foe.
But Mr Kahiga says he cannot allow his opponents to continue belittling him in public and adds he will not budge.
