Kiambu: Governor Wamatangi, MCAs in fresh row

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi is embroiled in a fresh row with the majority of county assembly members over his failure to fully reconstitute his government a year after he was sworn in, a gap they say is hampering service delivery.

Outside the County Assembly on Tuesday, the ward representatives accused the governor of acting as a lone ranger and failing to involve them even in matters that fall under their purview.

Mr Wamatangi denies any wrongdoing, claiming that even other counties operate with staff inherited from previous administrations.

If you look at other counties, most first-time governors are working with inherited chiefs. What we can respond to are facts about the allegations which are simply untrue,'' he said when contacted for comment.

Mr Wamatangi's falling-out with county assembly members earlier this year caught the attention of the majority of Kiambu county MPs.

Fearing imminent impeachment, Mr Wamatangi reached out to his UDA party to save his career, and on 31 May Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua convened a meeting at his Nairobi office that brought together twelve elected Kiambu MPs to cool things down. Governor Kimani Wamatangi and his deputy Rosemary Kirika were also present.

But the rift now seems to be back, with the resignation of some county executives and county chairpersons, and incumbent senior officials who have never been vetted or replaced by county representatives claiming that service delivery has been derailed.

A case in point is the resignation of County Executive for Education Bibianne Waiganjo, who left the county barely four months after being headhunted from teaching.

Ms Waiganjo was poached from Mount Kenya University in Thika, where she was deputy vice chancellor for academic and research affairs.

Her position has never been filled and Agriculture CEC Wilfred Mwenda is currently acting as Education County Executive. Roads, Transport, Public Works and Utilities is also headed by Mburu Kangethe, who served under former Kiambu governor James Nyoro and impeached former Kiambu governor Ferdinard Waititu.

In a sign of the depth of the rift between Wamatangi and the county MPs, his point man, the county assembly majority leader Godfrey Mucheke, was recently dethroned and replaced by Paul Macharia Wambui, Limuru East ward rep.

Another bone of contention between the county representatives and Governor Wamatangi is the appointment of people who worked for him when he was a senator and there are reports that casual workers who worked under the previous regime are being replaced by people who worked for the governor under the Wamatangi Foundation.

Kikuyu Town Ward MCA Kamau Boro notes that after the resignation of county chief of staff Gibson Mburu, he was replaced by James Njuguna, who served as Wamatangi's personal assistant during his tenure in the Senate.

It is just bad that positions are going to people who worked for the governor during the campaigns and casual workers are being sacked and replaced by people who are friends of Governor Wamatangi,'' said Mr Boro.

Karuri Ward Rep Peter Njoroge shares the same sentiments.

Githiga Ward Rep Ruth Waithira blames the governor for the delayed deployment of chief officers whose positions were advertised, interviewed and shortlisted last year but who never took up their posts.

The Kiambu County government advertised for the position of chief officers in Kiambu in September last year. We are also disturbed by the fact that people who campaigned for Wamatangi are getting positions in his administration, a clear conflict of interest,'' Githiga Ward representative Ruth Waithira said yesterday.

Another dispute between the county representatives and Governor Wamatangi is the controversial Sh319 million health insurance deal that the county assembly members claim was sole-sourced from a Mauritian insurance company, MUA Insurance limited.

The MCA later impeached Finance CEC Nancy Njeri Kirumba for misadvising the governor on the deal, but she was reinstated by court order.