COUNTY POLITICS: Politicians give debate on miraa wide berth as they hunt for votes

Politicians in Meru County have turned a blind eye on the ills caused by miraa due to fears of losing votes.

Although most of the aspirants concur that the miraa growing areas are grappling with many cases of social challenges that include child labour, family disputes, school dropouts and early pregnancies, most of them shy off highlighting the issues.

Many children drop out of school to work in miraa farms. They earn a lot of money daily but a big chunk of it is directed to alcohol and drug abuse.

Numerous cases of malnutrition among children and early pregnancies among schoolgirls have been linked to the miraa economy.

Dr Rufus Miriti, one of the parliamentary aspirants in Igembe South says child labour is a major problem in the area, insisting that administrators have failed to tackle it.

HIGH POVERTY LEVELS

“Young children are doing the business due to high poverty levels in the area. Many people are not enlightened on their rights, giving politicians an opportunity to play around with farmers instead of solving their issues,” he said.

Mr Miriti says the miraa ban in influenced politics in the region as politicians tend to lure voters with the promise of getting new markets.

In September last year, Governor Peter Munya was caught up in a diplomatic row between Kenya and Somalia when he visited the breakaway region of Somaliland in search of miraa markets.

State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu claimed that while there, Mr Munya promised to support the independence of Somaliland, prompting Mogadishu to ban imports of the stimulant from Kenya.

Mr Munya denied ever making that promise and blamed politics for the controversy.

SOMALIA BAN

It also emerged later that Somalia used the ban to bargain for some concessions from Kenya, including direct flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu which were launched this month.

The ban was later lifted after Nairobi intervened but some people in the Jubilee government were keen to blame the whole controversy on Mr Munya for political mileage.

Mr Simon Kobia, a resident, said despite the huge flow of cash in the area due to miraa business, illiteracy levels remained high.

He adds that the region’s high population and the miraa matter has made it a play ground for national and local politicians.

“After politicians realised miraa problems touch the lives of voters, they politicise it by promising to solve the issues, while they know they cannot,” he said.

RECAPTURE SEAT

Meru deputy governor Raphael Muriungi, who has served as Igembe South MP in the past and is seeking to recapture the seat, said miraa has been subjected to political agenda in the recent past, but farmers still face the same problems.

He said social injustices are on rise in the region because of traditional beliefs which even leaders have failed to control.

“We have tried to push for the end of ‘panga justice’ in the area but the culture is taking long to end,” he said.

‘Panga justice’ refers to the trend in which miraa theft suspects have their hands chopped off as a deterrence and to ensure they never get to hold anything.

The deputy governor says politicians have noticed that miraa is a soft spot for winning support in Meru.

“We leave out farmers and purport to solve their problems in boardrooms. How will miraa issues be solved without farmers who understand the problems they are facing?” posed the deputy governor.

However, with the recognition of miraa as a cash crop and allocation of a billion shillings in this year’s national budget, it remains to be seen how fast the sector will be transformed.