• On the economy and development, the MPs say that all the matters that were agreed upon during a meeting at the Regional Commissioner’s residence in Nyeri before the 2017 elections have not been addressed.
• On politics, the MPs remind Uhuru of the nature of his relationship with Ruto in 2013 as a means to end the "politics of division and conflict, ethnicity, balkanization, deceit and betrayal."
Image: PSCU
A group of 41 MPs from Mt Kenya, Nairobi and Rift Valley allied to DP William Ruto have written a stern letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of the visit to his backyard on Friday.
In the letter, the MPs decry the state of the economy, alleged betrayal of the DP, political 'persecution' and Uhuru's handshake with ODM leader Raila Odinga.
The 11-page letter also seeks to address what the MPs say is the shelving of the Big Four Agenda for BBI and also tells off the President over his recent utterances.
"The mountain will remain restless, dissatisfied and defiant. Ultimately, full-blown revolt will be inevitable," the letter coming hours before the President tours the region concludes.
Uhuru is expected to shift base to Sagana from Friday in an attempt to woo the region to support the BBI Constitution Amendments that arose from the handshake with Raila.
The letter comes just weeks after Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata wrote to the President telling him that BBI was facing opposition in Mt Kenya.
Uhuru dismissed the issue but has been on a blitz to woo the region and last week addressed the constituents through Kikuyu stations.
On Thursday, in an interview with Kameme FM, Jubilee Vice-Chair David Murathe, a close ally of Uhuru said that Kang'ata was right but used the wrong method.
Murathe said that the letter by Kang'ata was truthful and those telling the President that they have been campaigning for BBI are lying to him.
The MPs, allied to Ruto, tell the President that they hope the issues they have said form the agenda at the meetings he will be chairing at the Sagana State Lodge.
"This is important if we are to make real progress in advancing your programmes and legacy. If not, we are afraid this Sagana encounter will be yet another public relations talk shop, where those in attendance will collect Sh5,000 of public funds for no meaningful work," the MPs say in their letter.
Those that signed the letter are drawn from various constituencies across all the Counties in Mt Kenya and its diaspora in Nairobi and Rift Valley.
The letter opens with the MPs expressing their allegiance and support to the president but complain that they have not been invited to the Sagana meeting.
On politics, the MPs remind Uhuru of the nature of his relationship with Ruto in 2013 as a means to end the "politics of division and conflict, ethnicity, balkanization, deceit and betrayal."
They add that the President has taken a new turn in the conduct and practice of politics that has left many disappointed and outraged.
They say that the Mt Kenya people are honourable people, whose lives and livelihoods are based on honesty and trust.
"The new political agenda propounded by a faction publicly allied to you, which seeks to normalize treachery, dishonesty, deceit and betrayal as defining traits of our region and people is tragic, dangerous and unacceptable," the letter states
It adds; "We are honourable people, and we want it to be known always, in word and deed, that we stand for honour, honesty, integrity and trust in all of our dealings."
The MPs also says that they are also dismayed by the turn in the country's politics where there is the frequent use of abusive and disrespectful language against Mr Kenya people and their leaders.
"The total erosion of civility at the highest level of leadership is a source of tremendous disenchantment throughout the Mt Kenya region," the letter states.
On Raila, the MPs tell the President that, for 8 years from 2011, he consistently and persistently cautioned the region that Raila Odinga was Kenya’s foremost problem, and pleaded with voters to send him home for the country to move forward.
They add that Uhuru was only emphasizing what the people already knew, taking into account Raila's history.
"You blame the leaders and people of the Mt. Kenya region for being reluctant to accept the Handshake and the BBI. It is not their fault. The successful effort you made to persuade the people and render Raila Odinga unacceptable in Mt. Kenya cannot be undone in your lifetime," their letter states.
The MPs also say that there has been harassment and humiliation of political leaders who agree with Uhuru through the use of State agencies.
"After intimidation failed, our leaders were removed from parliamentary leadership positions and committees. These positions were given to ODM, the party we decisively defeated in the last election," the letter says.
In the letter, the MPs tell Uhuru that he should withdraw recent utterances that two tribes have led the country since independence and it was good for others to take over.
"We believe that Kenya is an equal-opportunity republic, where any person can rise to the pinnacle of their ambition lawfully through hard work. To insinuate that Kikuyus should not aspire for the Presidency, because others have been President, is unfortunate, insulting and selfish," the MPs said.
On the economy and development, the MPs say that all the matters that were agreed upon during a meeting at the Regional Commissioner’s residence in Nyeri before the 2017 elections have not been addressed.
"We presented highly detailed memoranda for every constituency, outlining projects agreed on before the 2017 election. The memoranda were all submitted to the Government for coordination and implementation. No subsequent meeting has made any reference at all to the issues raised nor indeed to the memoranda themselves," the letter states.
The MPs add that the Mt Kenya economy is "limping and groaning" with the residents going through "personal and communal suffering" as a direct result of the government's policies.
They say that policies related to import and export trade as well as demolition of structures in Nairobi and its environment have been used to impoverish people in the region.
"As much as we appreciate infrastructure improvements and the efforts to spruce up urban areas, the humanitarian and economic impact of wanton destruction of property on vulnerable people has been inordinate," the letter states.
Further, the MPs says that there have been discriminative policies affecting matatus and bodabodas during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They add that miraa farmers have failed to get access to international markets yet the government facilitated the flower growers.
"Despite your administration promising to focus on the Big Four agenda post-2017, agenda that would have created millions of jobs for our youth (jeshi), the same jeshi now languish in poverty after the Big Four agenda was abandoned in favour of the Small Two Agenda of the Handshake and BBI," the MPs say in the letter.