Shape up or ship out, DP Gachagua warns bickering county leaders
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua addresses mourners in Masaita village in Londiani, Kericho County, during the burial of Vincent Kipkoech Mutai, son of Kipkelion East MP Joseph Cherorot, on September 6, 2023.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has warned leaders against fuelling supremacy wars in Kericho, Kiambu and Meru counties.
Mr Gachagua said the Kenya Kwanza Alliance might be forced to persuade voters to eject warring leaders should they fail to call a truce.
The DP said the counties, which are in Rift Valley and Mt Kenya regions, are the political strongholds of President William Ruto and that the wrangles are tainting his leadership.
“This is the right time for these leaders to unite and work for the citizens to fulfil the Kenya Kwanza manifesto. We must talk in one voice to develop our regions,” Mr Gachagua said during the homecoming ceremony of Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira on Saturday in Kieni, Nyeri County.
“The two regions are the strongholds of the President and we cannot accept such leaders to let [Dr Ruto] down. I have told leaders from the three counties to be very careful because I can as well tell the people to kick them out and vote in other leaders,” he added.
He said the two regions should ensure that the locals benefit.
“We don’t want more wrangles because we want to tap maximum benefits from the Kenya Kwanza administration. We are rich in agriculture and, as leaders, we should be competing on how our farmers earn better pay from their produce. I have been assigned by the President to travel in various parts of the world to source for markets for agricultural produce yet some leaders are fighting over leadership. That is unacceptable,” Mr Gachagua said.
“We will be going to Meru, Kiambu and Kericho to listen to the leaders so that we understand the reason behind their differences. They must put their differences aside so that we can actualise the Kenya Kwanza manifesto that we presented to our people,” he added.
On Friday, the DP told Kericho Governor Erick Mutai and his deputy Fred Kirui to reconcile, terming their tussle as “a shame to President Ruto”.
The two barely see eye-to-eye ever since they took over the leadership of the county.
In Meru, the row pitting Governor Kawira Mwangaza and her deputy Isaac Mutuma escalated when she moved his office at the county headquarters to an old block where the governor’s office was located before it was moved to the newly refurbished premises.
In Kiambu County, ward reps have accused Governor Kimani Wamatangi of entrenching a dictatorship in the devolved unit. They say he operates as a lone ranger and is unable to work jointly with other leaders. He also stands accused of failing to include other leaders in decision-making and not initiating development at the ward level.
