Embu woman representative Rose Mitaru was on Saturday booed by residents during the state of the county address.
Senator Lenny Kivuti, speaker Justus Mate and MPs John Muchiri (Manyatta), Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes), Charles Njagagua (Mbeere North) and Mutava Musyimi (Mbeere South) skipped the event. Only Muchiri, Kivuti and Mate sent apologies.
Mitaru arrived at Kangaru Girls’ High School, where the ceremony was taking place, just before it ended. Deputy Governor Dorothy Nditi welcomed her to speak to residents.
However, residents booed her and demanded that Runyenjes parliamentary hopeful Muchangi Karemba speak instead.
Governor Martin Wambora tried to intervene and persuade the crowd to let her speak, but they did not listen to him. This forced her to step down from the podium.
Earlier, the crowd had demanded that former Cooperative minister Njeru Ndwiga address them, despite not being listed among the day’s speakers’. He is running for the Embu Senate seat.
When Njeru was given a chance to speak, he claimed Cord’s anti-IEBC protests are not genuine. He said Cord leader Raila Odinga “has felt so much cold outside Parliament and the government”.
Njeru said Raila is trying to find a way of going back to the government whether he wins or not, by creating chaos “to escape the cold of being outside”. “We entered into politics with Raila and his colleagues. Having been in Parliament and the government, I know how cold it is outside there. My friend Raila is trying to return to the government where there is warmth,” he said.
During the address, Wambora pledged to work with President Uhuru Kenyatta, the national government and all stakeholders to enable the county grow.
He also promised to work with development partners.
Mitaru has been pushing for the education of girls. Early this year, she said some girls from Mbeere North and South subcounties engage in prostitution to get money for sanitary pads.
Mitaru said most parents in the semi-arid subcounties cannot afford to buy sanitary towels for their children. She said the families struggle to feed their families.
Mitaru said she is surprised to learn girls still drop out of school yet the government has set aside Sh300 million to buy sanitary towels.
The woman representative said she will sponsor a motion in Parliament to make it mandatory for all children in semi-arid areas be given free food.
(+) Mitaru has for a long time worked as a mentor
Mitaru was elected on aTNA ticket. Prior to her election in 2013, she was a long serving lay reader of the Anglican Church. She worked for more than 30 years in various positions. Mitaru has for many years worked as a mentor to help young people stop drug abuse. She has a passion working for women, youths and the less privileged in society. Mitaru mobilised women groups to form merry-go-rounds, which eventually were converted to table banking organisation. Her next focus is the boy-child, who she says has been ignored and left to his own devices. Mitaru holds a masters degree in Development Studies and a bachelor of arts degree in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.