A Revolt is brewing in Central Kenya. The once perceived darling of the Jubilee Government is now crying foul after allegedly being jilted by the Uhuru Kenyatta led Government.
The revolt burst into the open yesterday after leaders from the region condemned the President for referring to some of them as washenzi, loosely translated as fools.
There has been disquiet in Mount Kenya over alleged neglect by State House in favour of ‘opposition zones’ after Uhuru was reelected to his second and final term.
But the revolt has now been amplified by the fierce succession debate sweeping the region and fears that Uhuru was slowly turning his back on Ruto in favour of Raila and other opposition candidates.
The President was reelected overwhelmingly in Central and Rift Valley on the basis of his trumpeted development track record.
Earlier yesterday, Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu had questioned why Ruto was silent while his allies were lashing out at Uhuru, yet he has been on a project launching spree in Central Kenya.
“Why is DP Ruto quiet when his Mt Kenya Tangatanga team are attacking the President and claiming he has not done anything in Mount Kenya? Wasn’t he [Ruto] in Mount Kenya region on average every week last year launching ‘development projects’ on behalf of his boss as his mtu ya mkono?” he asked.
Veteran politician Maina Kamanda dismissed the complaining MPs as individuals who have been paid to make noise.
“The President is President for the entire country. The development agenda does not come from the President. It comes from the entire government including MPs. The same MPs are also managing Kerra roads. Women reps have a kitty, while governors control billions,” he said.
He went on, “They want to pass the buck back to the President but I can tell you when the President tours their constituencies, these people will hide under their beds…They have dug their political graves.”
Some of the leaders, including MP Moses Kuria from Uhuru’s rural Gatundu South, have accused the President of neglecting them.
They argue that under the Constitution, the President has sweeping powers that he can use to ensure more money is allocated to Kiambu, Nyeri, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Nakuru counties.
In an unprecedented move yesterday, Ngunjiri launched what he called the Washenzi Movement in clear defiance of the head of state.
The two-term MP took a one-kilometer walk along Nakuru’s busy Kenyatta Avenue, castigating the President over the slur and claiming he was being misled by Raila.
Dressed in a white T-shirt emblazoned with Mimi Ni Mshenzi, Je Wewe Mwana Kenya, and accompanied by tens of supporters, the MP said the movement was meant to pressure the President to honour his pledge to back Ruto for President in 2022.
“It’s very painful because we are seeing our son being misled,” Ngunjiri said.
The MP gave a clear signal they would no longer be intimidated by Uhuru and for the first time are ready to stand against him.
“We didn’t know how to hurl insults at Raila, Uhuru showed us how to do it. We didn’t know how to hurl insults at Joho, Uhuru showed us how to do it. All these things he showed us himself. If he will not repent, help him [God] because he has wronged us and he has wronged the country of Kenya,” Ngunjiri said in mock prayer.