A section of leaders and residents from Garissa have criticised Nandi senator Samson Cherargei following his scathing criticism of the governance of Garissa County.
Cherargei had on the floor of the house on Thursday alleged various issues regarding the running of the county affairs.
He further alleged that residents are still going without water, despite the Senate allocating over Sh12 billion in the last financial year through the equitable share.
“I was discussing with the Garissa women representative Mheshimiwa Amina today that what is happening in Garissa is unfortunate. I am getting complaints and information that women are going through a lot,” he said.
The angry residents, however, told the Senator off, saying the Senate has powers and procedures to independently investigate such matters.
As such, they said the senator ought to have used the right channels of getting facts before making such weighty utterances and blowing the issue out of proportion.
Led by the Garissa level five hospital board chairperson Bishar Gure, they accused the Nandi senator of sensationalizing things with the sole aim of undermining the Garissa County Administration.
“We are standing here today to criticize the senator's regrettable remarks, to say the least. Unfortunately, he could stand on the floor of the house and spew unsubstantiated facts and lies,” he said.
He added:
“He needs to be reminded that we are our county and have an able senator in the name of Abdul Haji who should be oversighting the county and addressing those matters,” he said.
On his part, Mohamed Khalif, an elder challenged the senator to first verify his facts before presenting them on the floor of the house without giving them a chance to reply.
“Whatever he said is not only unfair but against the rules of natural justice. How do you say I was told when you are addressing the speaker of the upper house? Do you work with hearsay? Are you becoming a gun for hire Hon Cherargei,” he said.
He added:
“We will not allow you to go that route as far as our county is concerned. Unfortunately, the people of Nandi have elected a monster that they cannot control."
On the issue of water supply, Jane Akoth, a board director at the Garissa Water and Sewerage Company (GAWASCO) said the current county administration led by Governor Nathif Jama had done water projects to make sure that all citizens have access to water and that the remaining challenges in select areas solved in due time.
“If the women representative has a problem with the governor, there are ways they can address their issues. Our senator has not spoken about these issues, why is the Nandi senator who doesn’t even know much about the county speaking on our issues?” Akoth said.
“The governor has tried to overcome the water challenges we had been experiencing before he came to office. His administration has drilled boreholes in different parts of the county and soon, all parts of the town will be experiencing uninterrupted water supply,” she added.
