Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki's rivalry with the county's senator Kithure Kindiki spilled over on Saturday, October 5, after the two publicly clashed at an event.
According to a report by The Standard, the fallout came about when Kindiki got invited to address the congregation at the Ura Gate Tharaka cultural festivals yet he was the master of ceremony.
According to the programme of the two-day event, Njuki had been scheduled to appear on Friday, October 4, but he missed. He later joined the event on Saturday, October 5.
The senator's supporters, however, got physical and protested the development arguing that they were not impressed by the abrupt change of events.
“The programme was clear that I was supposed to be the chief guest today and thus I should be the last to speak. The Governor refused to come to this event on Friday as per the programme and coming today is tantamount to provoking me,” argued Kindiki.
He further took the opportunity to launch an onslaught on the governor claiming that his government had failed to allocate funds for the event yet he was receiving the master title.
“This event started in a very powerful manner, but it has now gone down due to lack of funding.
"It is the responsibility of the county government to allocate funds for these events and the Governor should not leave this place before announcing an allocation for next year’s event,” added Kindiki.
In his defence, Njuki claimed that some of the sponsors that had lined up for the event turned away and that it was up to the county assembly to allocate funds to the fete.
He also declined to disclose how much the event would receive for next year's edition.
