President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday cancelled his two-day tour of the Ukambani region, citing fears that it may cause a further spread of the coronavirus.
The President was to tour the region to end disquiet over an alleged raw deal in the sharing of “handshake” goodies. He was expected to inspect ongoing government projects and launch new ones, in an area that has been sidestepped since 2018, when he and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga sealed a deal.
Political disagreements between Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and governors from Ukambani triggered the last minute cancellation.
The decision was communicated to Kamba leaders on Monday morning at a meeting convened by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua at Harambee House in Nairobi.
The leaders had gone to fine-tune the President's itinerary which was to kick off Tuesday, but were told that the trip had been called off indefinitely. State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena promised to issue an official statement on the matter.
Initially, the trip was planned for last week, with Mr Kenyatta expected to visit projects in Machakos and Makueni counties on June 28 and then head to Kitui County on June 29.
Raila inspects newly constructed Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu
Even though the President’s handlers cited fears of a possible upsurge of Covid-19 case, as was the case in Kisumu County last month, leaders attending the meeting left convinced that their own political squabbling was the main reason for the cancelation.
Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu regretted that the cancellation was the result of unnecessary political bickering and a push by Wiper leaders to make the trip a narrow political party affair, instead of focusing the development concerns of the region.
Governor Ngilu said there’s a sizable population in Ukambani that does not subscribe to Wiper’s ideology hence the need for the President to tour and address all residents’ concerns.
Two meetings held at Harambee House last week failed to yield a consensus on the itinerary and development agenda of the tour, with elected leaders allied to Mr Musyoka exchanging bitter words with governors of the region.
Multiple sources who spoke to the Nation agreed that the President chose to defer the trip to avoid being caught up in local politics
Sticky issues revolved around the President’s itinerary, with Mr Musyoka’s team opposing proposals by governors to have him visit projects accomplished by counties.
Ms Ngilu (Kitui), Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) wanted the President to launch new projects while inspecting ongoing ones, and had prepared a wish list, while the Wiper team was keen on controlling his itinerary.
Another contentious issue was a proposal by Mr Musyoka for him to host the President for lunch at his Tseikuru home, just as Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga hosted him at his Riat home in Kisumu, when he visited Nyanza region.
According to a source conversant with the deliberations, who requested anonymity, the meetings last week degenerated into name-calling, with Mr Kinyua telling the leaders that they should have met and agreed before trooping to his office.
It was said that trouble began when Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua told the meeting that the President should not visit the Kitui County Textiles Centre (Kicotec) because there were legal questions over its existence. He also alleged that the facility is privately owned.
Mr Wambua argued that if the President accepted the invitation by Ms Ngilu to officially open Kicotec, he would be legitimising misuse of public resources.
This riled the three governors, who wondered how a county parastatal that has existed for the last three years, with its budgets and regulations approved by county assembly, can be privately owned.
Ms Ngilu reminded the senator that the Kitui County Assembly debated and approved her plan to establish the factory, and allocated resources to actualise the project.
The senator insisted he’ll stay away from Kicotec if it's included in the President’s itinerary, saying he doesn’t see any value in taking Mr Kenyatta there.
In September 2019, when the Senate held its Mashinani sittings in Kitui, Mr Wambua boycotted the courtesy call by Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka and Senate leaders to Governor Ngilu’s office and also stayed away as his colleagues toured Kicotec.
He tried to dissuade Mr Lusaka and fellow senators to shun Ms Ngilu’s invitation to tour the garment factory but when he failed to convince them, he chose to stay away.
But last week, Mr Kinyua had to intervene and inform the senator that the government did due diligence on Kicotec long before President Kenyatta allowed State agencies, including the Office of President, to have their uniforms manufactured in Kitui.
He also told the leaders that both county and national government projects are funded by the exchequer and that the country cannot be limited to touring national government projects only.
Kicotec has attracted national attention, with many counties benchmarking in Kitui. It has already been awarded contracts to make uniforms for chiefs and their assistants, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Ports Authority and several other government agencies.
Mr Wambua ran into trouble again when he dismissed a suggestion by Governor Mutua that the region’s leaders petition the President over business opportunities worth Sh11 billion, generated by the Thwake dam project and meant for local communities.
The contract awarded to China Ghezouba Group stipulates that 30 percent of work and supplies for the Sh36.9 billion dam, which is the first phase of the Sh63 billion project, should be subcontracted to local firms.
As the meeting became tense, Governor Mutua told Senator Wambua: “Can I explain to you in Kamba so that you can understand how important it is for our local business community to benefit from Thwake project?”
It was at this point that Ms Ngilu accused Mr Musyoka and his team of politicising the trip instead of joining hands to ensure the region gets the same attention as other regions, in terms of tangible infrastructure projects, or “handshake goodies.
Top on the wish list is a road linking Kitui and Makueni counties and another connecting Kitui and Tana River counties, and revival of the stalled coal mining project and the collapsed Wikithuki irrigation project in Mwingi.
To access Hola town in Tana River, residents have to travel either through Mombasa or Garissa, while those travelling from Kitui to Wote town in Makueni have to go through Machakos because there’s no road connecting the counties.
The leaders also want export processing zones established in their counties to actualise manufacturing – one of the items in President Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
They further want the irrigation scheme revived with additional support for farmers to engage in value addition for their produce.
President Uhuru Kenyatta open Kenya Shipyards Limited in Kisumu
Ukambani county chiefs cite several huge infrastructure projects which the President launched during his three-day tour of Kisumu and other Nyanza counties, undertaken following the historic March 2018 deal between him and Mr Odinga.
Among the projects Mr Kenyatta unveiled were the Sh3.8 billion rehabilitated Nakuru-Kisumu Metre Gauge Railway, the Sh3 billion refurbished Kisumu port, Sh350 million ultra-modern Uhuru business park, Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium at the Mamboleo ASK ground, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Sports Complex, Inland Container Depot at Kibos and the 400kv power project by Ketraco.
Mr Kenyatta was to begin his tour at the Konza Technopolis in Machakos County before proceeding to inspect Thwake dam in Makueni County and later launching the Kibwezi – Kitui road, among others.
On the second leg of his tour, the President was to Kicotec and later tour a county-owned stone crusher in Kitui Rural, which produces 1200 tons of ballast per day, before proceeding to see the collapsed Wikithuki irrigation project in Mwingi North.
