Ugly outburst exposes bitter rivalry in populous Kiambu
Eric Wainaina and Mathew Ndungu
An ugly outburst by Governor James Nyoro against Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina has re-ignited sibling rivalry between upper and lower Kiambu with Limuru lawmaker Peter Mwathi calling for a split of the populous region.
Politicians from Kiambu East (lower) and Kiambu West (upper) both with a population of 2.4 million and 12 constituencies have been agitating for division along the two areas to give them financial and political autonomy.
The matter was the subject of heated debate among local politicians and shaped realignments during the 2013 elections.
Former Governor William Kabogo who hails from Ruiru had to pick Gerald Githinji of Limuru as his running-mate while Nyoro from Kikuyu settled on Elizabeth Wangui from Juja, an arrangement that was never achieved in 2017 when Nyoro was a running mate to disgraced Ferdinand Waititu who was considered as an outsider. Nyoro has been accused of sidelining Lower Kiambu on development projects.
Defended himself
The governor however yesterday defended himself saying the claims were are just politics being peddled by leaders who want to mud his name, adding that he is serving the county fairly.
“Those are just politics being played. In fact, the projects that I am being accused of running in Kiambu West I am not the one who initiated claims them.
They were initiated by former governor Kabogo, and as the governor, I must complete them. I am also running projects in Kiambu East,” Nyoro told People Daily yesterday.
Lower Kiambu comprises of Ruiru, Juja, Thika, Gatundu North and Gatundu South with a population of 1,188,808 people while the upper one comprises of Limuru, Kabete, Lari, Kiambu town, Kiambaa, Githunguri and Kikuyu constituencies enjoy a population of 1,228,927 people.
Nyoro, who was elevated to the position following the impeachment of Waititu in December last year for presiding theft in the county, is currently grappling with allegations of abandoning Kiambu East at the expense of upper Kiambu.
This has triggered a spat between Nyoro and a section of the leaders, notably Wainaina, who has also accused him of frustrating his efforts to bridge a gap created by failure by destroying projects done by his Jungle Foundation as well as using foul language.
Politician George Koimburi from Juja and who is among leaders who have accused Nyoro of shortchanging Kiambu East yesterday maintained the county should be split into two for fairness in revenue distribution, and acknowledged that the unhealthy politics was a show of the bitter political rivalry between the regions.
“For us, we are of the view that the country should be split. Let us have two regions because as the way things are, it has been difficult to share resources due to the high population and the size of the county and that is what you are hearing the noise from the people,” Koimburi told People Daily.
Recently, in what seemed a well-choreographed onslaught on the MP, the governor and his deputy Joyce Ngugi took the war against the MP who the duo thinks is nursing ambitions of being governor.
The delegation also brought on board the infamous bishop David Ngari alias Gakuyo who also happens to be Nyoro’s political advisor castigated the MP for allegedly abandoning his mandates and instead taking his 2022 gubernatorial aspirations to other parts of the county.
