Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has linked the continued onslaught against him by some MPs to his refusal to collude with them to loot the county's coffers through dubious tenders and land grabbing.
He spoke in Gatuanyaga, Thika while distributing humanitarian aid to victims of floods caused by the ongoing heavy rains countrywide.
The governor said that when he took office, some Members of Parliament, whom he did not name, had hoped that they would enrich themselves by pocketing public funds.
The county chief, who served as Kiambu senator from 2013 to 2022, said after rejecting the "unholy alliance," some leaders started attacking him.
He said that he has faced impeachment threats, with his critics hoping that he would soften his stand on safeguarding public resources.
"When I made a conscious decision to become governor, it was because I wanted to make sure that the funds that I fought for through my one-man-one-vote-one-shilling campaign are used to transform the county. After being rewarded with three election victories by the people, I cannot sit down with certain people to plan how to steal resources that should be used to transform lives. I will remain firm,” Mr Wamatangi said.
The governor singled out an attempt to seize public land in Thika, specifically a parcel ceded by food processing firm Del Monte measuring 100 acres. He said that when he took office, he found that some people, including elected leaders, had started a procedure to dubiously acquire the land after coercing and intimidating previous county administrations.
Further, Mr Wamatangi said, the wars escalated when Del Monte finalised the surrender of another 695 acres. He said some individuals were eying the prime land, but the county government eventually hived off 325 acres which were gazetted for the Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
“Those people had hidden from the public the existence of that 100 acres, and plans were also in motion to grab part of the other land ceded by the company later. But I opposed the plan and maintained that both parcels will be safeguarded for public use and anyone who wants to own land should use their hard-earned money to buy it,” he said.
Last year, Mr Wamatangi faced impeachment threats.
The County Government of Kiambu Majority Leader Godfrey Mucheke and Chief Whip Nelson Munga alleged that some MPs would call ward representatives and incite them to fight the governor.
They further alleged that if they refused, they would be threatened that they will be denied United Democratic Alliance party tickets during the 2027 elections.
There was also a protracted six-month battle to have Mr Mucheke and Mr Munga removed from their leadership positions over their support for the governor.
A top leader in the National Assembly and some MPs have been accused of interfering with the county assembly affairs.
MCAs say that the leaders have been belittling and undermining them. The ward reps claimed that the leaders call and instruct them to destabilise the county government, and those who refuse are threatened.
The also said that five ward reps out of 86 in the county assembly have stepped up the war against the governor after other MCAs refused to be used to fight Mr Wamatangi.
The MPs, however, defended themselves against accusations of interfering with county affairs. They said that they are raising matters of public interest.
Recently, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wa Muchomba said some of her colleagues in Parliament have been holding meetings to discredit the governor.
