Kibwana slams 'John The Baptist' Kalonzo for inspecting Ukambani projects

The varying politics of the Ukambani Region which forced President Uhuru Kenyatta to postponed his tour to the region is continuing to intensify.

According to the communication from the State House, the president changed his mind at the eleventh hour over the fears of surging cases of coronavirus in the country.

“It is notified that whereas His Excellency the President remains keen to assess the impact of his Administration’s transformative projects and programmes across the country, in this instance he will make a scaled-down inspection of identified projects in the Lower Eastern Region," State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said on Tuesday.

However, it is the politics in the region that are believed to have delayed Uhuru’s visit and the postponement was to allow the local leaders to put their house in order.

The president had met with some of the leaders from the region at State House, Nairobi, where they discussed the development agenda and politics of Ukambani.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and Alfred Mutua of Machakos were among the leaders who attended the meeting, which was skipped by Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana.

On Wednesday, Kibwana criticised Kalonzo for inspecting the ongoing construction of Thwake Dam, which is one of the sites that Uhuru will visit in his tour.

Kibwana said that Kalonzo has never been to the place, and not even to any projects in Makueni.

“Today he said he is John the Baptist. He is yet to visit any county project since his Wiper juniors say there is nothing in the counties. We hope to see change,” Kivutha said.

The president visited Kitui on June 25 for the official launch of the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Protection in Museve, and was to make another visit in early July.

In the two-day development tour, the Head of State was expected to visit Machakos and Makueni counties.

In Makueni, the President would begin his tour at the Konza Technopolis in Makueni before proceeding to inspect the Thwake Dam project and later launch Kibwezi-Kitui road.

During a previous meeting with Lower Eastern leaders, the President called for the unity of the National Super Alliance, ahead of next year's General Election.