Infighting among Ukambani politicians may have caused the postponement of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the region that was to commence this Thursday.
Local leaders are said to have been wrangling over preparations for the visit which has now been postponed until next month.
Divisions arose over the agenda of the meeting as some elected leaders accused their colleagues of hijacking the visit to the three counties of lower Eastern region.
Several leaders that the People Daily spoke to yesterday expressed divergent views on the President’s visit.
Visit postponed
State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu had on Saturday evening sent a statement explaining that the visit had been postponed to June to allow completion of preparations.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the Lower Eastern counties of Machakos, Makueni and Kitui scheduled for May 19, 20 and 21 has been pushed back to June. A new date for the visit to the region will be communicated” said the statement. Esipisu further said the President is looking forward to the visit to interact with leaders and residents and to exchange views on the region’s development needs.
Interviews with leaders from various counties in Ukambani exposed the disunity among them which indicated they may not have been prepared to receive the President.
Among those who spoke on the visit were Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo who admitted there were disagreements on the handling of preparations to host the Head of State and even on proposals for projects that should be given priority. “We had complained about several proposals of projects that the President should give priority, we had a meeting with our governor (Kivutha Kibwana) on Friday evening to collapse all these proposals,” said Maanzo.
Apart from the issue of projects, Maanzo accused the area county commissioner of disrespecting elected leaders : “It is true there were comments here and there, the county commissioner has been disrespecting elected leaders as we have noticed that he has even been receiving Cabinet secretaries without our knowledge, the President should meet all elected leaders before visiting Ukambani to iron out some of the issues,” he said.
Mbooni MP Kisoi Munyao, howeve, downplayed any wrangles saying as part of the organising committee, he was aware of meetings taking place across the three counties to come up with a united front on the issue of projects. He described the perceived wrangles as healthy debate towards achieving unity in the preparations.
“Initially, there were sentiments expressed by people who wanted to achieve selfish agenda but as the Lower Eastern Parliamentary Group we are working together to coordinate all these views, the curiosity and anxiety around the presidential visit are expected but it is a positive thing,” he said.
Mwingi Central MP Joe Mutambu said, “The President will meet people from the three counties separately, he is also wise, he knows that each region, Machakos, Makueni and Kitui has its own leadership.”
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