DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa, on Saturday, June 14, 2025, held a meeting with a high-level delegation from the Kikuyu Council of Elders at his Kiminini home in Trans Nzoia.

In a statement shared on his official X account on Saturday, June 14, 2025, Wamalwa revealed that the elders had travelled from Mt Kenya to Kitale to pay homage at the mausoleum of the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa before proceeding on what he described as a historic tour of Western Kenya.

“It was a great honour hosting the Kikuyu Council of Elders, who came home to Kitale to pay their respects at the Mausoleum of the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa as they embark on a historic visit to Western Kenya,” he said.

Wamalwa expressed his appreciation to the elders for choosing a path rooted in unity, dialogue, and national reconciliation, noting that such cross-cultural exchanges offer much-needed balm for a country still bearing the scars of division.

“I wish to thank our elders for seeking unity in diversity and building bridges of friendship and brotherhood across cultures, communities, religions, and regions to enhance our national cohesion and integration,” he added.

According to Wamalwa, the elders from Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon took time to reminisce about the political journey of unity that was once championed by the late President Mwai Kibaki and the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa.

He said the two leaders had, under the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), steered Kenya into a new era of inclusion and progress that momentarily healed historical wounds and ushered in the spirit of a truly rainbow nation.

“The Elders from Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon reminisced about the journey of unity that was begun by Kenya’s 3rd President Mwai Kibaki and the 8th Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana that united our country into a truly Rainbow Nation under the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).”

Wamalwa also revealed that the elders shared a proverb—“rui ruchoke mukaro”—which he translated to mean “let the river return to its course,” and said it was a timely call for the country to retrace its steps back to harmony and people-centred leadership.

“The elders urged in Kikuyu that “rui ruchoke mukaro” (let the river return to its course).”

Agriculture-rich Trans Nzoia

Wamalwa noted that the meeting was not purely ceremonial, but also served as a moment of shared reflection on how Trans Nzoia is steadily redefining its agricultural and socio-political identity.

He said that the elders, during their tour of his family farm in Kiminini, were surprised to witness the region’s transformation from its long-held identity as Kenya’s grain basket into a thriving hub of diversified agriculture now embracing the cultivation of coffee, avocado, macadamia, tea, and sugarcane.

“I was delighted to receive the Mt Kenya delegation on my farm in Kiminini, who were surprised to see how Trans Nzoia is no longer just the grain basket of Kenya growing maize, but is also a county that has embraced diversification of agriculture and is now growing coffee, avocado, macadamia, tea and sugarcane,” he said.

He added that while maize farming remains a proud part of his family’s heritage, they have since embraced a broader approach to farming and are now growing nearly everything, except groundnuts.

“My family has always been maize farmers, but now we are doing everything except groundnuts (njugu),” he added.