Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire was conspicuously missing from a high-profile meeting when President William Ruto hosted governors and Cabinet Secretaries at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday, pointing to deepening internal conflicts within UDA.
Mbarire's absence at the meeting that was also attended by Principal Secretaries raised eyebrows, especially after the governor, who is also the ruling UDA national chairperson, accused unnamed government officials of fighting her.
The President meant to use the meeting to get progress reports from the counties and government ministries.
Mbarire was expected to attend the meeting, not just in her capacity as the chairperson of President Ruto's party, but more so, as a governor.
Mbarire had earlier skipped another meeting the DP held in Embu on the same day. This was during the Macadamia Conference, and Kindiki was the chief guest.
When he took the stage, the DP assured the area leaders that there was no political tension between the Kenya Kwanza government and the governor, saying the governor only missed the event because she was preparing for President Ruto's meeting with governors.
''To demonstrate there are no problems, I bring you greetings from my sister Cecily Mbarire. She could not be with us because the president had called another meeting at 2 pm at the State House on Livestock Vaccination, that's where she is. She could not be here and back there in time for the meeting," Kindiki said then.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that despite Kindiki's assurance, Mbarire was also missing from the president's meeting. Videos and pictures posted about the meeting showed no sight of the governor.
While her colleagues took to their social media accounts to post about the meeting, Mbarire remained silent and posted nothing about it.
Just like she missed the Macadamia conference despite meeting DP Kindiki that morning, the governor also missed the governor's meeting with the president, raising suspicions of a rift between the UDA national chairperson and the party's top leadership.
During Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1, at Makima Primary School in Mbeere, the governor accused unnamed officials of holding night-time political meetings behind her back.
“These government officials are disrespecting me, and they should stop. I will not sit back and watch as backroom political deals are made without my knowledge,” she said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Kindiki had earlier disclosed that he met Mbarire and Embu County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Muriithi on Wednesday morning at his Karen residence. The meeting sought to discuss the status of national government projects and interventions to protect key agricultural value chains such as tea, coffee, macadamia, and muguka.
