Two closest allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday attended a meeting convened by President William Ruto at State House, sending mixed signals about their political stance following the ouster of the former.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya and his Embakasi Central counterpart Benjamin Gathiru, alias MejjaDonk, attended the meeting alongside other Nairobi Members of Parliament to discuss the ambitious Nairobi river regeneration programme, among other development projects being implemented jointly by the national and the county government under Governor Johnson Sakaja.
A similar meeting convened by the President in September at the height of his political fallout and subsequent ouster of Mr Gachagua was skipped by the two leaders.
Some ODM members had also boycotted the engagement, which included accompanying the President for the inspection of the Kibra Soweto East Affordable Housing Project.
Apart from the two MPs, other leaders present at the State House meeting included Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, MPs George Aladwa (Makadara), Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West), Peter Orero (Kibra), Anthony Oluoch (Mathare), Ronald Karauri (Kasarani), Felix Odiwuor alias Jalang’o (Lang’ata), Mwafrika Kamande (Roysambu), Tim Wanyonyi (Westlands), John Kiarie (Dagoretti South) and Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North).
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna was absent as he is away in Somaliland as an election observer. Woman Rep Esther Passaris was also absent with an apology, according to Mr Aladwa, who was tasked with inviting the MPs to the meeting. Conspicuously missing from the meeting was Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, a fierce critic of both President Ruto and Mr Sakaja.
A text message sent to the MPs states, “…the President has requested to meet all Nairobi Members of Parliament on Tuesday for the update of Nairobi river.”
Mr Gathiru told Nation that the agenda of the meeting had nothing to do with politics. He also said that he remains a UDA member despite the political fallout between the President and Mr Gachagua.
The lawmaker further dismissed talks that their presence in the meeting was a sign they could be planning to abandon Mr Gachagua, stating that ‘there is no way we can abandon Gachagua, he remains our leader and people are with him, not just in Mt Kenya but across the country.’
“We are not enemies (with the President). We only differed in opinion about what happened. You need to know we are members of UDA, led by the President,” he said.
“The agenda of the meeting was about the Nairobi river and other projects that are being done by the county and national governments jointly. For instance, the President is supporting us in the construction of 3500 classrooms in Nairobi,” he explained.
Mr Sakaja told Nation that the rare show of unity by elected leaders and the partnership with the national government has the potential of unlocking major development projects for the benefit of the residents of Nairobi.
He said that although some of the elected leaders could have competing political ambitions, their interest at the moment is to ensure development projects for the county.
He cited major road corridors within the city, sewer systems, solid waste management, and construction of classrooms as some of the projects likely to benefit from the partnership.
“The partnership between the National and County Government will yield results for the people of Nairobi. We aligned several programmes starting with the regeneration of our rivers, increasing the capacity of our primary and ECDE Schools, addressing physical infrastructure in the city among other interventions,” said Mr Sakaja.
He added, “The Constitution of Kenya as well as the Urban Areas and Cities Act envisions a close collaboration between the National Government and the Capital City, and William Ruto has provided the right environment for this.”
Mr Aladwa said the MPs were being briefed about the Nairobi river regeneration initiative. The President recently appointed Margaret Wanjiru to chair the commission, which has been handed the 24-month-long rehabilitation project.
“There was nothing like the UDA or ODM politics meeting. Our focus as leaders is to ensure the two levels of government can cooperate for the benefit of the people of Nairobi,” said Mr Aladwa. He disclosed that there are plans to have Nairobi MCAs also to have a meeting with the President.
In the meeting, the President said Nairobi County occupies a special place in the national government plans since it is the gateway to the East African region.
“MPs were briefed on our ambitious plan for the cleaning up of Mathare, Nairobi and Ngong rivers. We also discussed the construction of roads, lighting, and building of more classrooms in the city,” said the President.
