Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Waiguru has opened up on why she apparently snubbed Deputy President William Ruto's Saturday tour to her county for a fundraiser at Karoti Girls High School.
According to the county chief, she did not receive an invitation from the DP's office to attend the event as has been the case during previous tours by Ruto to her locality.
"My office and majority of the leaders did not have any communication from the Deputy President on his intended visit to Kirinyaga as has been the practice in previous visits," Waiguru is quoted by Nation.
[caption caption="Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru with DP William Ruto in a past function"]
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"We would have expected the officers in charge to make the necessary arrangements with local leadership and communicate accordingly. Why the decision was made to bypass protocol is open for debate," the Kirinyaga County boss indicated.
Waiguru further indicated that it had remained unclear whether the DP would show up for the event or not since he had already sent out Devolution Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eugene Wamalwa to represent him.
CS Wamalwa had reportedly arrived around 2 pm to represent DP Ruto, who later turned up past 5 pm on Saturday after attending several functions in Meru County.
"The Kirinyaga County government has had nothing but reverence in previous occasions where we have hosted Ruto.
"We are surprised at Saturday's turn of events but we will steer clear of speculation," Governor Waiguru stated.
Interestingly, the Deputy President gave Waiguru's apology in his speech and presented a donation of Ksh200,000 from the Kirinyaga governor.
Kirinyaga County Assembly Majority Leader James Kamau Mulango, however, raised suspicion that the supremacy battles between the governor and Woman Rep Purity Ngirici could have seen Waiguru's team sidelined during the trip.
"Something is not right. Failure to invite us is perhaps (meant) to create the impression that those who were absent do not want the DP. I met the governor (Waiguru) a day before the event and she was not aware of the visit," Mulango opined.
[caption caption="Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Waiguru in a past event"]
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Among the leaders who graced the event was Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Ngirici, four Members of County Assembly, area MP Kabinga Wachira, former Senator Daniel Karaba and former County Assembly Speaker Anne Githinji.
