Insiders privy to the Sagana 3 meeting in Nyeri County say that President Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to change his plans after more than 5,000 delegates turned up for the meeting on Wednesday, February 23.
The change was allegedly prompted by a decision reached by Kirinyaga Women Representative, Purity Ngirici and Interior Ministry PS, Dr Karanja Kibicho.
It was claimed that Ngirici and Kibicho mobilised most of the uninvited delegates from Kerugoya in Kirinyaga County to attend the rally alongside those invited from Mt Kenya, Rift Valley and Nairobi Metropolis Counties.
Several buses were reportedly hired to ferry Kerugoya residents to the rally, a plan that caught Uhuru off guard.
"I am seeing so many people here and since I cannot rob the government, I do not know how to, I had budgeted for 5,000 leaders. Let us share the little I brought."- President Uhuru Kenyatta urged.
Further reports claimed that the Head of State was not privy to the changes, but his security detail was.
To avert a possible crisis, the organisers opted to allow thousands of uninvited guests to attend the rally. The security team was instructed to screen and let in those without invitation cards and directed them to sit positions temporarily arranged.
The reorganisation caused delays to the meeting, with the President addressing the gathering later than scheduled.
Ngirici was spotted at the front seat with other Mt Kenya Cabinet Secretaries and politicians. She further posted her photo taken while she was receiving Uhuru at the meeting.
“…Hii kitu umechukua (You have won our hearts),” she captioned the photo on her social media pages.
After the rally, scores of the delegates were reportedly stranded, with others demanding to be paid Ksh3,000 as fare and remuneration.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho refuted the allegations, terming them doctored reports.
“Hogwash,” the PS precisely responded to a string of questions.
Ngirici did not respond to our questions, but an aide within her circle trashed the reports stating that the uninvited residents and delegates turned up out of their love for the President.
“No one was ferried to the rally. These are fake reports,” the aide rebutted.
Ngirici was a harsh critic of Uhuru and Kibicho prior to her defecting from United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to the President’s camp. She aligned herself with the Azimio la Umoja movement led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga whom Uhuru has endorsed as preferred successor.
The vocal lawmaker announced that she will contest for the Kirinyaga Gubernatorial seat against Anne Waiguru, the incumbent who is a UDA affiliate.
Kibicho, who was expected to also contest for the seat, declined to join the race owing to his allegiance to Uhuru and demands of the Interior Ministry docket ahead of the August 9 polls.
“I'm not going for any elective post. I've said it many times before, the direction I'm following is where President Uhuru Kenyatta is leading us and that is still my position. I will continue to support the President and do the job he gave me,” he stated at a past rally.
