We didn’t crown Muturi as Mt Kenya kingpin, say Kikuyu elders

Murang’a county elders have said they did not coronate the speaker of the National Assembly but only blessed him to be Mt Kenya region spokesperson.

The elders clarified that coronation leads to kingship, which they have no authority to bestow upon a leader.

Kiama Kia Ma county patron Peter Kagwanja said the event that has since elicited sharp divisions between elders and sparked condemnation from a section of leaders was both cultural and political.

Kagwanja said they brought Muturi to Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine so that he could visit their home as he had done with the Ameru and Ambeere.

He spoke on Friday during a meeting with executive committee members of the County Elders Association.

“We know on August 9 next year there will be elections. We did not bless him to make him president; that would take his own individual efforts,” he said.

Kagwanja said they were requested by elders from other areas to host the speaker as a guest at the shrine and they cannot stop anyone from accessing the shrine.

He reiterated that the installation was in no way meant to belittle President Uhuru Kenyatta and his position in the region but noted that his national responsibilities call for someone to take up the mantle to speak on behalf of the region.

Uhuru’s role of being the region’s spokesperson migrated when he became President and now speaks on behalf of Kenyans, Kagwanja said.

He dismissed a section of elders who conducted a cleansing ceremony at the shrine after Muturi’s installation.

“Why then did they publicise what they intended to do? Cleansing is not a public affair. They have no right to say who is clean or unclean to go to the shrine,” he said.

Kagwanja said though the elders are apolitical, they identified Muturi as a leader who is untainted and globally known, and who has the capability to lead the region and ensure it speaks in one voice.

He said the elders intend to shift the axis of politics from one that is money-minded to one that is moral.

Kiama Kia Ma county chairperson Kiarie Rugami, for his part, said the installation brought together more than 6,000 elders from 10 counties.

Rugami said though the region is open to all presidential candidates, it has to remain united as the country heads to next year's general election to give it more bargaining power.

“The politicians who are in leadership right now have not given us any directions on who will take over from the President. This is why we have been having divisions and competitions among leaders,” he said.

Rugami said those opposed to the elevation of the speaker as the spokesperson are free to choose another leader but stressed that the group has been reaching out to elders who have publicly opposed the ceremony.

“We have been trying to reach out to them and we hope they will join us,” he said, dismissing claims that elders have been split by Muturi’s installation.

The event held on May 22 has been dismissed by leaders, among them Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, who have aspirations to lead the region.

It has also sparked talk of impeachment of the speaker, with some MPs saying his new role would impair his parliamentary work.

Muturi has, however, received the support of governors Kiraitu Murungi (Meru), Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi) and Martin Wambora (Embu) who have urged him to urgently commence a campaign to unite the region.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris