Murang’a Governor, Mwangi wa Iria, has dismissed a section of leaders from Mount Kenya who are claiming to negotiate for the future of the region to those who are vying for presidency in 2022.
Wa Iria said votes of Mount Kenya people cannot be auctioned in hotels or in any other meetings.
The Governor observed that few political leaders from the mountain region have been meeting in hotels purporting to discuss the future of the region which he said will be futile.
He said Mt. Kenya region has an equal right to vie for the presidency in the next general elections regardless of the fact that it has produced three presidents since independence.
The region, Wa Iria said, has an estimated 10 million voters and no single person can claim to give away those votes in a hotel meeting.
“Politicians cannot meet in hotels like they have been meeting in Maasai Mara and elsewhere then claim to make political decisions for 10 million Kenyans from Mount Kenya. The region cannot be like a goat or chicken that someone can just take to the market for sale,” he asserted.
He further refuted claims that the mountain region should stay away from the presidency, saying there is a democratic right for all Kenyans from all areas to vie for any seat.
“There are people saying that we (Kikuyus) should not be on the ballot and I disagree with that. I will be on the ballot; Kenyans will vote and when the votes are counted the winner will be the next president of Kenya,” he stated.
He continued, “The Constitution only allows me to be governor for 10 years. That time is almost up and I have no intentions of retiring from politics. I can, however, not go for a lower seat like that of an MP or MCA, so the only way for me is up, the presidency.”
Wa Iria also said once campaign period ushers in, he will transverse the country in search of voter support from all other regions and advised other aspirants to do the same instead of just waiting to be given votes, saying the region was not for sale as a block and every one of them had to look for their own votes.
Commenting on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill, he expressed his surprise that some leaders from the region had voted in opposition of the Bill, saying that the extra constituencies that the Bill allocated to the region were of great benefit to the people.
“Some legislators from the region voted against the BBI Bill at the National Assembly, this is being selfish, they were voting against development,” Wa Iria observed.
By Bernard Munyao and Purity Mugo