The early days of March each year have always been difficult for residents of Nyandarua, whenever they look back on the enforced disappearance and subsequent death of their most prominent son, JM Kariuki.
Some 41 years after his decomposing body was found in Ngong Forest, his memory lives on, dividing friends and foes alike, well beyond the Nyandarua North Constituency (now Ol’Kalou, Ol’joro-Orok and Ndaragwa constituencies) that he once represented.
My government notes, with gratitude, a commemoration held in his honour in Nairobi on Wednesday evening, the keynote address given by Chief Justice Hon Dr Willy Mutunga, and the discussion that followed led by lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee and others.
It would greatly help, as a matter of courtesy, if residents and the County Government of Nyandarua were involved in such discussions in future.
We believe such conversations, however diverse, are helpful in perfecting our union, and may keep us true to the dreams of our founding fathers.
Outside Nairobi, these conversations may also need to happen in the former Central Province, where the impact of JM’s demise on Nyandarua’s fortunes has often been misunderstood, if not under-estimated altogether.
Unlike other counties in the region, Nyandarua does not seem to have gained from the largesse of the First Republic.
JM’s leftist bent would, particularly, appear to have alienated the county from the dominant capitalist trends that have shaped our nation since its founding.
We are, therefore, in this strange position where Nyandarua is sometimes expected to exhibit the visible signs of “development” only a few years after devolution, when other counties have had a head start in other significant ways.
It must be understood, however, that this cannot be the endless excuse for the many challenges the residents of Nyandarua face, as the critics of my government may be wont to point out.
On our part, we can still hear JM when he said: “Every Kenyan man, woman and child is entitled to a decent and just living. That is a birthright. It is not a privilege. He is entitled as far as is humanly possible to equal educational, job and health opportunities irrespective of his parentage, race or creed or his area of origin in this land. If that is so, deliberate efforts should be made to eliminate all obstacles that today stand in the way of this just goal. That is the primary task of the machinery called Government: our Government."
Accordingly, we continue to implement our pledges to the electorate, in line with the County Integrated Development Plan of 2013-2018.
For instance, my government formally launched subsidized artificial insemination services for its farmers a few days ago, in a move that could radically transform both Nyandarua and Kenya’s dairy sector in less than a decade.
The agriculture sector is important to our people, for Nyandarua is largely a rural county, blessed with good soils and rains much of any calendar year.
In JM’s honour, my government continues to upgrade the JM Kariuki Memorial Hospital in Ol’Kalou with the equipment and staff it will need to respond to the challenges of this century.
We are putting up a paediatric centre at the hospital with the support of partners from Israel, in a move that could aid several satellite counties.
When complete, the on-going modernisation will help us treat cancer, heart disease, kidney ailments and diabetes locally and at affordable prices.
For instance, testing for cancer is Sh1,000, compared to exorbitant prices offered in private facilities.
A new laboratory is almost complete, while a branch of the Kenya Medical Training College branch has been opened at the hospital.
Importantly, similar facilities are to be found in Engineer Hospital in Kinangop sub-county, further expanding the reach of our services.
We are, in partnership with Airtel, also now launching free internet for our institutions of higher learning, in a move we expect will deepen access to and usage of information and communication technology in Nyandarua.
We are, with the support of the National Housing Corporation, planning for and moving towards a more urban Ol’Kalou, the county’s headquarters.
Already, we have availed 15 acres of land for the development of staff housing, adjacent to the new County Assembly and County Government offices.
We are, in this financial year alone, spending Sh1.08 billion to revamp our dilapidated road infrastructure.
Every day, and across all sectors, we continue working to make JM’s work on earth truly our own.
The writer is the governor, Nyandarua County. ( )
