Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner's office finally moved to Kathwana

The Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner is set to relocate to the gazetted county headquarters in Kathwana town from Chuka town after 10 years of devolution.

County Commissioner Nobert Komora announced that he will be relocating from his Chuka office to Kathwana on December 19.

He said he had received a directive to relocate following last week’s consultative meeting between the county’s elected leaders with the Interior and Co-ordination of National Government Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and President Dr William Ruto.

“On 19th of this month (Dec) I welcome the media to witness as I pack my files and relocate to the gazetted county headquarters Kathwana offices from Chuka town,” said Mr Komora at Kairuni Stadium in Maara constituency on Monday.

Mr Komora, who was deployed to the county before the August General Election, said he had not declined to move to the Kathwana offices and that he was comfortable with the move.

He said he found his predecessor operating from the Chuka office and that he had “embraced the Kathwana offices and was working from there two days a week.”

The official said he comes from Tana River County which is drier than Kathwana and that he had previously worked in Moyale and Baragoi which are also as dry.

“I am ready to work from Kathwana because it is the county headquarters and I even enjoy that climate more considering where I come from,” he said.

300 delegates

In 2012, during the advent of devolution, more than 300 delegates drawn from Maara, Chuka/Igambang’ombe and Tharaka constituencies met and agreed on Kathwana to be the county headquarters.

There were the choices of established towns like Chuka, Marimanti and Chogoria, which are the constituencies’ headquarters but the delegates settled on Kathwana, which was a dusty village market due to its centrality and enough space for expansion.

The other factors why Kathwana was chosen included favourable climate and proximity to the Ena-Kathwana-Meru highway and the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor.

Since there were no offices at Kathwana, the first governor Samuel Ragwa was hosted at a nearby Kenya Water Institute, Chiakariga campus for months before he built an office but the county commissioner and all other national government departmental heads settled in Chuka town.

The County Assembly pitched tent at Kathwana where it held its first plenaries before erecting temporary chambers using iron sheets but their offices are also still in Chuka town more than 30 kilometres away.

Last year, the national government built the county commissioner’s office in Kathwana but the building remained unoccupied for more than a year later.

The issue of most of the county leadership remaining in Chuka town has been a debate over the years with some politicians being accused of sabotaging the growth of Kathwana at the expense of Chuka town which is the county’s biggest commercial centre.

Kathwana Business Community led by secretary Henry Kimwere has been holding demonstrations over time demanding the relocation of the offices and tarmacking of Chuka-Kaare road which links the two towns.

Construction of the key road started in 2014 but only six kilometres have been done. However, work resumed this month after stalling for six years.

Sh400 million

The Sh400 million county government five-storey executive building is at the roofing stage while the Sh360 million assembly offices and chambers building has stalled at the foundation since 2015.

This has compelled the county assembly and some executive offices to remain in Chuka town.

Keria-Mautuni-Kathwana and Gatunga-Marimanti Chiakariga roads that are supposed to connect Maara and Tharaka constituencies to Kathwana are also in a bad state.

Due to the lack of growth of the county headquarters, land prices that had increased from Sh50,000 to Sh1 million for 50 metres by 100 metres parcels of land within the market in the first three years have dropped by half.

The county headquarters does not have a public hospital but there is a branch of Komarock Modern Healthcare, a private facility and there is no mainstream bank apart from two Saccos, Transnational Sacco and Solution Sacco.

The county commissioner may be compelled to be spending nights at the residential house in Chuka town as the government plans to construct one.

It is not clear whether the other national government county departmental heads including the county police commander will also follow the county commissioner to Kathwana but leaders have asked them to do so.

With the relocation of the offices, Kathwana is expected to experience some growth as projected 10 years ago.

The residents have lauded President Ruto and CS Kindiki and the elected leaders for the decision to have the offices move to the county headquarters.

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