On Thursday, April 9, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga came under criticism for plastering his image on sanitisers before donating them to area residents.
Kahiga, in a statement on Twitter, stated that he and Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu had overseen the repackaging of 13,000 litres of hand sanitisers that had been donated by Kibos Sugar Company into smaller units.
It is his image on the donated items that caught the attention of most Kenyans.
"Let us be ethical about this, imagine you do a donation to me of some products, then I repackage it and put my photo on it, what would you say? I think this is not an ethical act on your part sir," Paul Otieno wrote.
"We hoped our governor would set an example and overcome the temptations to put a photo of him. Seems politicians are training him the sad theatrics," James Nyawira weighed in.
"Kibos sugar donates sanitisers, Governor of Nyeri receives, sanitizer repackaged, Governor of Nyeri fixed his photo on the package label, distributed to citizens. The sanitizer package labels should read "Free issue by GoK". Honesty matters," Japheth Masanda stated.
Governor's Response
While responding to the sentiments, Kahiga urged Kenyans to stop being petty and asked them to focus on the bigger picture.
"Social media users aka Kenyans on Twitter, stop your pettiness. What is important is that over 40,000 Nyeri residents will now get sanitizers labeled NOT FOR SALE courtesy of Kibos Sugar Company," the governor stated.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu came to the defense of the governor stating that he had a right to plaster his face on the sanitisers.
"Kahiga is the Governor of Nyeri. He sourced these sanitisers. They will be distributed to people of Nyeri who know him as the Governor. He will use others to distribute; including people who could take the containers and brand them using their own names or even sell them; which is worse and that is what he’s avoiding.
"Those who get the sanitisers will appreciate it. Those complaining can afford to buy and not take what he’s giving for free. Fact. Let the man be. Unless you have been sent by Kibos Sugar to complain," he concluded.
