Mt Kenya political leaders allied to President William Ruto have retreated to their backyards to prepare the ground for a rousing welcome for the Head of State during his forthcoming development tour.
President Ruto has also been holding a series of meetings with the region’s elected leaders at State House, Nairobi, as part of his elaborate consultations before kicking off the week-long tour.
The region swept him to power in 2022, but has since turned hostile following the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and alleged unfilled pre-election promises.
The extensive tour that could start from next week would be President Ruto's first trip to the region after replacing Mr Gachagua with Prof Kithure Kindiki.
On Monday, the President held talks with governors Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi), Cecil Mbarire (Embu), Isaac Mutuma (Meru), Joshua Irungu (Laikipia) Irungu Kang’ata (Murang’a), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga) and Kiarie Badilisha (Nyandarua).
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, a close ally of Mr Gachagua, was conspicuously missing during the State House meeting. Mr Kahiga confirmed to the Nation that he had been invited for the meeting, but could not make it because he was hosting the World Executive Scouts Committee. He said he requested to have his deputy, Mr David Kinarire, represent him, but it was not granted.
“I indeed received an invite for the State House meeting through H.E. Kithure Kindiki himself by way of SMS on Sunday at 2.06pm. I wrote back indicating that I had a very important meeting scheduled the next day at the same time as the SH meeting,” Governor Kahiga told the Nation .
“The World Executive Scouts Committee was coming to declare Nyeri the Scouting and Guiding Town of the World. This was no mean feat and was the culmination of a 100 years’ persistence by different actors at different times in the history of the World Wide Scouting and Guiding movement. Nyeri is the last resting place of Lord Baden Powel and Lady Olive St Claire Baden, the founders of the two movements,” he added.
Following the State House meeting with Mt Kenya governors, President Ruto said, “We are aligning National and county governments' priorities to accelerate our development agenda, effectively address the needs of our people, and drive inclusive growth.”
Since his impeachment, Mr Gachagua and his allies have gone on an offensive running anti-Ruto narrative in the region by painting him as a dishonest leader who has betrayed the region and Kenya at large.
But in an effort to flip the perceived hostility ahead of the tour, President Ruto’s allies including governors, Cabinet Secretaries, MPs, Principal Secretaries and parastatal heads have camped in the region to inspect projects while calling on the people not to follow Mr Gachagua “blindly” while accusing him of promoting tribal politics.
Leaders who have stood with the Kenya Kwanza administration are determined to thaw any hostility that might be directed at the Head of State.
However, allies of Mr Gachagua have termed the scheduled visit as insignificant, maintaining that it is unlikely to change the political standing of the locals who are still smarting from the alleged political betrayal.
In Mathira constituency, Mr Gachagua’s backyard, MP Eric Wamumbi has gone on an overdrive in preparation for the tour, erecting a billboard in Karatina town with a welcoming message for the President.
Last week, the MP toured several projects in the constituency that are expected to be inspected by the head of state including a modern wholesale market in Karatina town.
In his meet the people tours, Mr Wamumbi told residents that the constituency has benefited from ongoing construction of 100 kilometers of roads that have been upgraded to bitumen standard courtesy of the Kenya Kwanza government among other projects.
On Friday, Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Performance and Delivery Management, Mr Eliud Owalo and a host of senior government officials visited Muranga to inspect various national government projects ahead of the visit by the President.
Mr Owalo inspected the Maragua Ridge Irrigation Project in Kamahuha, a Sh312 million initiative by the National Irrigation Authority.
He said the 400-acre project is now 90 per cent complete and was already benefiting 848 farmers and has created over 12,700 jobs.
The team also visited the Makuyu Affordable Housing Project, a Sh1.8 billion undertaking by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development. The project was launched three weeks ago, with foundation works ongoing for the 764 housing units.
Mr Owalo and his team also inspected the Makenji Affordable Housing Project in Kandara. The Sh491.5 million project is 49 per cent complete, according to the State House.
On Monday, Buuri MP Mugambi Rindikiri teamed up with his Laikipia North counterpart Sarah Korere and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Chairman Ndiritu Muriithi to launch two different development projects where they called on the locals to shun “divisive politics” and embrace politics of development under the stewardship of President Ruto.
While Mr Muriithi, the former Laikipia governor was cautious in his utterances, the two MPs accused Mr Gachagua of advancing tribal politics under his rallying call of uniting the mountain.
“Nobody should claim to own the mountain and use the word “Mlima” to propagate tribal politics. We shall rally behind President Ruto in his efforts to unite the whole country and we shall reject Wamunyoro [in reference to Mr Gachagua and his divisive politics,” said Mr Rindikiri during the launch of construction of a Sh56million modern market in Timau Town, Meru County.
Ms Korere said what Mt Kenya Region needed at the moment is development and this could be realized through uniting under the broad based government.
“We should reject those sowing divisions and rally behind President Ruti so as to achieve development across the country. This is not for politics but to focus on development projects that will empower our people,” said the Laikipia North MP.
Earlier in the day, the trio commissioned a newly opened administration block at Sirimon Laikipia Day Secondary School which was constructed through the National Government Constituency Development Fund.
The administration block was officially opened by Mr Muriithi, who explained how he landed the top job at the KRA.
“When I lost my seat as a governor in 2022, I went to consultancy work locally and abroad. Due to my work experience, President Ruto requested me to join his government and as a patriotic Kenyan, I couldn’t decline to offer my services to help grow our economy,” said the seasoned economist.
Separately, Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu on Tuesday led an inspection tour of the Nanyuki affordable housing units, one of the projects President Ruto is expected to grace during his visit and hand over the 200 units to the beneficiaries.
This came a day after Mr Irungu and his counterparts from Central Kenya met with the president in State House Nairobi as part of preparation for the tour. Another project Dr Ruto is expected to visit is the Laikipia County Integrated Industrial Park (CAIP) in Rumuruti whose construction is ongoing.
Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga asked the residents of Mt Kenya region to welcome the President, and let the government work for them, saying he would stay in government for the sake of development.
“We all want to stay in government so that by the end of the five years of Dr Ruto’s presidency we will be judged by what we will have done for our people,” Mr Wamatinga said.
However, Mr Gachagua’s allies have poured cold water on the tour, saying it will not change the residents' stand over what they term as betrayal after Mr Gachagua was kicked out of government.
Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto says Mt Kenya Region will not expect anything short of an explanation as to what informed Dr Ruto to kick out an elected deputy president and embrace opposition leader Raila Odinga into the broad based government.
“It is a good thing that he has finally decided to visit the region where we expect him to announce new development projects and not launch old ones. Additionally, our people will be interested to know why their sons and daughters are being kicked out of prime positions in government including in parliamentary committees,” said Mr Wandeto, , a Gachagua ally.
In Mathira, a majority of local residents think the development tour is of no consequence and is unlikely to change their stand against President Ruto.
Residents have in the past week trolled the MP on social media platforms accusing him of wasting public resources on "useless" billboards yet Murima has "gone forever"
Reported by Mwangi Ndirangu, Stephen Munyiri and George Munene
