Politicians from the Mt Kenya region have been urged to remain united as they strategize on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s succession.
This follows a meeting by leaders from the region convened at a Murang’a hotel by Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho on the weekend.
Subukia parliamentary aspirant Simon Ngugi urged the politicians not to gamble with the choice they make on Uhuru’s succession saying this will have a major impact on the region’s development.
Ngugi who addressed the press in Nakuru urged the leaders to align the region with a candidate whom they are assured of support once they get elected.
“Any miscalculation might land the region in the opposition thereby denying it the power to lobby for national government projects. Our leaders must be cautious and with our interests at heart,” said Ngugi.
Deputy President William Ruto is among the presidential hopefuls who have managed to make inroads in the Mt Kenya region.
This has, however, come with opposition from a section of Mt Kenya leaders-Kieleweke faction who do not back his presidential bid.
“Ruto remains a formidable force and a candidate with a head start in acceptance across all regions in the country as President Uhuru’s successor,” he said.
Ngugi faulted the leaders who met on Friday for attempting to put conditions on Ruto for the region to back him saying that it was already late.
“Ruto has already won the hearts of Mt Kenya people who do not need coercion to maintain or change their stand. They should be negotiating to have a bigger say in his government should he win the polls,” said Ngugi.
He further called on Mt Kenya Senators to be cautious on revenue sharing citing that a win for Mt Kenya counties does not mean a win for communities living in the region.
“According to 2019 census, Mt Kenya communities have the highest population. It should however be noted that most of them live outside Central Kenya. Disadvantaging other counties will be disadvantaging their own people living outside the region,” said Ngugi.
He urged them to focus on delivering the Jubilee manifesto-Big Four Agenda saying that continued politicking had derailed the dream.
Ngugi noted that a considerable number of Kenyans are yet to get connected to water and electricity despite promises by the government to connect all households before the next general elections.
He singled out Subukia as one of the marginalized areas on development projects under national government despite it being inhabited by communities from the Mt Kenya region.
On this, he urged the legislators to ensure counties such as Nakuru and Laikipia which are inhabited by Mt Kenya communities but fall outside the Mt Kenya region benefit from the national cake.
