• Aburi, a seasoned politician, is now a political ally of Trade CS Peter Munya and a fierce critic of Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi.
• He is building his political base ahead of 2022 and probably team up with Munya's PNU.
Image: Dennis Dibondo
EALA legislator Mpuru Aburi has crafted a new political outfit called the National Ordinary People Empowerment Union, which is popularly referred as to as No0 Peu.
Aburi, a seasoned politician, is now a political ally of Trade CS Peter Munya and a fierce critic of Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, despite campaigning for him in 2017.
He says Kiraitu has failed and should be sent packing.
Aburi did not defeat Munya in the Tigania East MP seat until Munya vied and won the Meru governor race in 2013. Aburi was, however, trounced by Josphat Gichunge in 2017.
Noo peu is a sound mimicking Kimeru language Onomatopoeia, which means fast and dramatic disappearance of an object. Aburi and other leaders opposed to Governor Murungi are using it as a rallying call to ostensibly end the shrewd politician's political career.
They are using the onomatopoeia to describe how Kiraitu will be ousted at a lightning speed. Aburi coined the catchy word in which he has managed to rope in Munya and several other politicians.
Aburi campaigned for Kiraitu, a seasoned politician who has not lost any election he contested since 1992. While Kiraitu trounced Munya for the governor seat, Aburi lost the parliamentary race and got a consolation through an EALA appointed through Jubilee Party.
"I came to realise the tortoise was far much better than the leopard. Now the beast is eating our animals and people are crying all over. He should work for the people of Meru,” Aburi said.
He added that Munya's style of leadership was the kind of shooting from the hip and the tell as it is leader. He ruffled many feathers with the national government when he was the Council of Governors chairman.
His announcement that he will vie for President seemed to have made him more enemies than friends. With Tharaka Nithi Senator Kindiki Kithure's influence diminishing, Munya took advantage to build himself politically as the next Mt Kenya region kingpin.
Munya recently told off Deputy President William Ruto over claims that he was involved in an assassination plot with other three CSs from Central Kenya.
Aburi had teamed up with Munya and Senator Linturi to launch an onslaught against Kiraitu but the Meru senator did not hold to the camp for long and he has now gone mute and said he is supporting Kiraitu.
LINTURI'S COMMENT ON WHY HE WENT BACK TO KIRAITU
Aburi is building his political base ahead of 2022 and probably team up with Munya's PNU. Already the slogan Noo Peu has gained momentum in Meru.
“Munya is the current Meru Kingpin and he will steer the way forward for us. If he tells us to go right, we go. If he tells us to go left we go,” former North Imenti MP Silas Muriuki said.
Image: Dennis Dibondo
Aburi, perhaps realising his 2017 mistake, has decided to stick to Munya. In the last election, he campaigned against Munya who comes from the same Tigania East constituency, where the former governor got many of his votes, against Kiraitu, who is an Imenti.
Wealthy businessmen from as far as Mombasa and outside the country are funding Aburi in his smear campaign against Kiraitu.
PLUNDERING RESOURCES
Just like he did to Munya he has been telling Merus how Kiraitu is worse than Munya and how he is plundering county resources.
On March 16, their rivalry played out at a burial in Igembe Central. Aburi said the governor was sidelining Nyambene, which comprises the Tigania and the Igembe subethnic groups. But Kiraitu dismissed the claims, instead accusing Aburi of using falsehoods and propaganda to incite residents.
Auditor General Edward Ouko questioned the use of Sh4.3 million to raise earthworms and black flies in Meru without an assessment. The 2017-18 audit raised questions about raising earthworms and black flies in the 45 wards.
About Sh2.5 million was used to provide 1,000 eco-tosha materials for earthworms and Sh.1.8 million to buy 600 plastic tanks. The aim was to make organic feed for poultry, dairy cows and fish.
The county says it never started the project by the time of the audit in November last year for lack of funds.
When Munya was governor, he played lone ranger kind of leadership and I went to Kiraitu and asked him to stand for governor and oust Munya. He initially refused but after a while, he agreed. Now that we brought down the proud tortoise that was on the tree, I never imagined Kiraitu would turn out to be a leopard now that he is on the tree.EALA legislator Mpuru Aburi
This audit queries raised a storm in Meru and Aburi took advantage to prove he has been right to bash Kiraitu over development.
Munya said the project is laughable.
“Some things are unbelievable. Call me a doubting Thomas but I can’t believe that public funds were used to buy earthworms and flies. I was shocked to learn that this was in the Auditor General’s report,” Munya said.
Linturi said the gloomy state of affairs in Meru as captured in the Auditor General's report of 2017-2018 should worry residents. He spoke when he addressed the Meru county assembly in April, but later made an about-turn and said he will support Kiraitu.
Aburi has vowed to oppose Kiraitu all the way.
“If in the constitutional change Kiraitu supports the amendment of the constitution I will oppose it,” Aburi told residents at a burial in Tigania East.
“I urge all clergy to ban Aburi from the pulpit as he is spreading falsehoods against my administration. He should not be allowed to lie to Christians at the expense of my administration,” Kiraitu recently said.
The EALA MP has been opposing every project the county launches. First, he said some of the boreholes Kiraitu had drilled were not fit for human consumption. He also opposed planting of trees along the Meru-Nanyuki road and has recently criticised the uprooting of flowers and planting new ones by the county government as part of the beautification of Meru town.
In a recent visit by Deputy President William Ruto in Mukothima Tharaka constituency on July 13, Aburi told Ruto that Meru has its own party Noo Peu but he should not worry because the party will support him in 2022.
Political analyst Isaac Marete says the vibrancy of Noo Peu cannot be felt now until during the nominations.
Aburi might be preparing his ammunition to launch his senatorial bid for Meru in 2022 while others say the politician might just vie for Tigania East MP.
“I do not want any political seat I just want to work for the people of Meru and when the time comes I will seek an audience with the people of Meru. For now, let them not speculate,” Aburi said.
His populist politics have endeared Aburi to the people of Meru, and he appears handy in every situation that needs intervention to an extent of leaders have questioned whether he attends sittings in the East African Legislative assembly.
“Mpuru has been hovering around: We see him in funerals and most events that we wonder if he was elected locally. He should look for a way he can help Meru in the EALA instead of going round fighting other people projects,” Dennis Kiogora an MCA for Abogetha East said.
Baite TV, which is associated with Meru Woman Representative Kawira Mwangaza, and Meru TV which Aburi is affiliated with are giving prominence to politicians attacking Kiraitu.