‘We’re restarting all road projects abandoned by handshake’ – Murkomen defends Ruto

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen has defended President William Ruto after Usonga Member of Parliament (MP) Samuel Atandi put him to task over the relaunching of a Nyandarua road launched five years ago.

Atandi had questioned Murkomen about how the relaunching of the road happened under his watch.

“Kipchumba Murkomen is of course one of the top cabinet secretaries in the KK regime. A brilliant mind whose approval process took less than a minute in Parliament. However his action of relaunching one road in Nyandarua County, a second time is sacrilegious. Waziri, ni nini?” he wrote on his Twitter account.

But in a subsequent rejoinder, CS Murkomen asserted that the Kenya Kwanza administration was restarting all projects that Ruto had launched during his era as deputy president.

“Mhesh we are restarting all the road projects that were abandoned by the handshake administration especially those abandoned because the then DP Ruto had launched them,” he stated.

Mhesh we are restarting all the road projects that were abandoned by the handshake administration especially those abandoned because the then DP Ruto had launched them. https://t.co/qCfLSLx4rL

— KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN, E.G.H (@kipmurkomen) April 7, 2023

Earlier Ruto came under sharp criticism after a section of social media users called him out for launching the Nyandarua road that was launched years ago.

The Head of State was put in his defence when he stated that he had begun the project as deputy president.

He alluded that he stalled the project since he was ‘denied’ funding by the previous government in a move meant to jeopardize his bid for the presidency.

“During last year’s election campaigns, President Ruto promised to complete all stalled projects, including roads. During the ‘Handshake’ (2018-2022), many projects he launched were deliberately denied funding even though they were in the government’s programme. This was to frustrate the then Deputy President and his bid for the presidency.” he stated through State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed.

“Today, it’s evident that the architects of these schemes that they thought would frustrate President Ruto, ultimately hurt the people, the economy and Kenya. But the President is and will clean up the mess. He promised to complete all stalled projects before embarking on new ones. This is the President fulfilling his pledges,” he added.