Leaders from the Kuria community in Nyanza on December 18, 2019, convened at Kiikalloh Grand Resort in Machakos County where they discussed challenges that face their society.
The Daily Nation reported that the meeting was graced by Kuria East Member of Parliament Marwa Kemero Maisori Kitayama, former Migori Senator and incumbent Ambassador to Nigeria Wilfred Machage, 20 other leaders including MCAs and professionals.
The leaders stated that devolution had failed to fully address the marginalisation of minority populations and that the Kuria Community was not equally represented in Migori County.
Therefore, the leaders demanded the establishment of Kuria County.
"The creation of Kuria County had been considered in the Bomas draft only to be dropped in Naivasha. We presented the same proposal before the BBI team. Our proposal was heavily referenced but later dropped. There is only one sentence that made it to the report," Maisori told reporters.
During the conference, the leaders highlighted that the Kuria community boasted a population of 308,000 people as per the 2019 census equaling and surpassing the population of some devolved units.
They referenced to Lamu, Tharaka Nithi, Marsabit, and Taita Taveta counties.
In the spirit of the BBI, the leaders lauded President Uhuru Kenyatta for the initiative and called upon its task force to take into consideration their woes.
Maisori commended the extension of the task force's term but proposed that the creation of Kuria County be submitted to a referendum vote.
Machage also praised President Kenyatta, stating that if implemented and made more inclusive, the BBI report would give a voice to marginalised communities in the country.
"The Kuria have been servants since independence. How many of us are in government? We are citizens like the rest. We are tired," Machage stated.
The former senator challenged the notion that the creation of an extra county would stretch the national wage bill, citing that those in the opposition were already well represented.
James Chacha, a former mayor, highlighted that the Kuria community constituted 30 per cent of the population in Migori County, yet failed to produce a woman representative, let alone a governor.
Chacha revealed that of the 10 executive positions in the County Government of Migori, only two were awarded to members of the Kuria community.
"We don't get equal distribution of resources in Migori County. A third of the resources in the county should go to the Kuria community," Chacha remarked.
