Remarks against President Uhuru Kenyatta over alleged neglect of Central Kenya on development are insulting and disrespectful to the Presidency and must stop, Nyandarua governor Francis Kimemia has said.
Kimemia, who also chairs the Central Kenya Economic Bloc, said the sentiments are dividing and inciting the public and deviating the nation from its development agenda.
“There is a need for all leaders to respect the institution of the Presidency and give room to the Jubilee administration to deliver on its promises,” Kimemia said in a statement on Wednesday.
He was responding to remarks by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria during New Year Eve where he said Uhuru has totally ignored the Mt Kenya region as he launches projects in perceived opposition strongholds.
The President has since dismissed the notion, terming his critics as washenzi (fools).
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Kimemia said the President has been in consultation with governors across the country and they all can attest to the already implemented or planned projects in their regions with support from the national government.
“Leaders making malicious statements on the state of inequitable development must understand that you cannot deliver a five-year project in a span of a year. Therefore, it’s abnormal for some leaders to mislead the population,” Kimemia said.
The governor said leaders from counties that fall under the Central Kenya Economic Bloc have a roadmap of development projects that are aligned to the Big Four Agenda which the national government supports.
Patience, he said, is all they need to exercise.
“In Nyandarua for instance, out of the 425km of tarmac roads, work on 200km has already commenced at a cost of Sh10 billion through the support of national government under Uhuru.”
Kimemia asked leaders to support the President’s efforts in uniting the country and steer clear of putting the country in an election mood barely a year after the general elections.
He urged them to refocus their energies on the development and uplifting the living standards of the people they represent.
“To put the country in another political campaign mood is unpatriotic and betrayal to the voters who elected us,” Kimemia said.
His statement came hours after a group of former and current leaders from Central Kenya held a press conference to defend Uhuru’s development legacy.
They warned their colleagues from the region against sabotaging the handshake with premature 2022 succession politics.
"Our leader is Uhuru and there is no other leader that we know of. When the time comes, our region will negotiate for a President," the leaders said.
They included Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura and former presidential candidates Martha Karua and Peter Kenneth.
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