Interior PS Karanja Kibicho has cautioned politicians from counties neighboring Kirinyaga allegedly planning to cause chaos during the Mashujaa Day celebrations to keep off from the area.
Kibicho claimed intelligence reports point to the said politicians who are recruiting youth to be transported to Wanguru Stadium, the venue of this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations, to disrupt the fete.
Speaking at Ngaru and Riamugaa villages in Kirinyaga Central and Kirinyaga West Sub-Counties respectively during peace sensitization meetings, Kibicho said he could not afford to see people shed blood during such organised events.
He said leaders in the county had agreed to pull in the same direction and speak in one voice before, during and after the looming celebrations.
Kibicho warned the ‘foreigners’ to remain in their respective counties and leave the locals alone to go about their business without undue external influence.
“One ‘General’ Andrew Ngirici and I have been imaginary enemies after some people continued peddling falsehoods that I was planning to have him arrested until we met and discovered that it was mere falsehood,” Kibicho disclosed during the two meetings.
Kibicho who also paraded Ngirici at both meetings where they publicly shook hands to demonstrate their newfound unity, said all area residents had equal rights regardless of their social standing.
“Whether we are working in Nairobi or wherever, the fact remains that we all hail from this wonderful county no one is superior to the other as we share the same status as human beings,” Kibicho said.
By a show of hands, residents in both meetings promised to observe and maintain the highest degree of discipline during the fete by showing love and compassion to the Head of State and his guests.
The jovial residents further agreed to watch the proceedings of the fete on their television sets at home due to the minimum number of attendance at the stadium in compliance with Covid-19 protocols.
Kibicho reiterated that only 3,000 people will be allowed into the stadium on the day of the fete through invites only, out of whom 2000 will be locals and the rest from the other counties.
“Despite this ultra –modern stadium having a seating capacity of 10,000 people we have restricted this to only 3,000 people due to strict observance of the public health Covid -19 protocols. We cannot afford to have a similar situation like the Kisumu one where many residents contracted the virus and died after they disregarded the public health directive,” Kibicho warned.
Accompanied by his Infrastructure counterpart Professor Mwangi Maringa and several MCAs and Members of Parliament, Kibicho said the Head of State deserves his due respect at the venue and his entire stay in the area.
Maringa said in 1969 the area had only 53 kilometers of tarmac “but by the end of this year the county will be boasting of over 600 kilometers of tarmacked roads.”
Maringa further enumerated other development projects the government is undertaking in the which run into billions of shillings among them the Thiba mega dam, the Sh1.6 billion Kirinyaga Water and Sewerage project, the Sh15 billion KEMRI Research and Referral hospital for the entire Mt Kenya region and the Kennol –Marua dual carriage road.
Also present during the two meetings was the local Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici who urged youths not to allow themselves to be used by outsiders to cause mayhem against their own folk.
She thanked the locals for their overwhelming support when they elected her to the current seat and hoped the same would prevail as she seeks to vie for the area gubernatorial position come next year.
By Irungu Mwangi
