Former Nyeri Town Member of Parliament (MP) Ngunjiri Wambugu on Monday, January 16, delivered a scathing attack on Mount Kenya leaders while at the same time praising leaders from the Nyanza region.
In a publicly shared video, the politician remarked that Mt Kenya had been schooled on how to conduct politics by their Nyanza counterparts, following President William Ruto's tour to the region.
He pointed out four areas that Nyanza had usurped elected leaders from Mt Kenya;
Strategic mobilization and communication
Ngunjiri opined that there was a strategic mobilization in the region, something that has always been lacking in Mt Kenya.
“You could see that former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had given clear instructions to leaders from the region to attend Ruto’s meetings en masse,” he remarked.
He added that were it in Mt Kenya, some leaders would be kept away from the meetings, and divisions among elected leaders played out publicly.
The benefit of strategic mobilization is that there is a clear plan for the lobbying of resources according to Ngunjiri.
In communication, Ngunjiri remarked, “The leaders were very smart and communicated respectfully to the President, showing a level of maturity that has long been lacking in our region.”
Unity of purpose
The former MP was jealous of how leaders from Nyanza were able to unite when it mattered most.
“It was surprising to see how the whole region united for the benefit of their region.
“They brought all their top dogs even Raila Odinga himself was present through his brother Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga,” he stated.
He further admired how the region did not squabble publicly about problems and issues that needed intervention.
“You could see that leaders from the region had one voice when it came to articulating issues that need the attention of President William Ruto,” Ngunjiri stated in his video.
Moving on
Ngunjiri remarked that, unlike Mt Kenya, Nyanza had already moved on from the August 2022, general election.
"Nyanza has already accepted that Ruto is the president and even if they did not agree on the process they have moved on,” he opined.
“Mt Kenya is the only region in the country that is still holding parties and constantly reminding Kenyans how many votes they brought to the table,” he added.
The failure to move on has made the region lag behind while other areas in the country are drawing economic blueprints.
Leadership
Ngunjiri stated that former president Uhuru Kenyatta had left a gap in Mt Kenya that will be difficult to fill because of divisions.
“In Nyanza, you could see there was clear leadership structure, every leader was given clear issues to present to the President and the area had agreed on collective areas that need national government intervention,” Ngunjiri remarked while assessing Ruto’s two-day trip in the Nyanza region.
According to the former MP, that is not possible in Mt Kenya because everyone wanted to be seen as calling shots.
“All leaders in Mt Kenya want to be seen as Kingpin, my advice is that they should unite and decide what they can lobby collectively,” he advised.
