Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has sensationally claimed that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks at a Kakamega Hotel in August could have triggered the bad blood between him and his deputy Philomenah Kapkory.

Yesterday, Governor Natembeya told the Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee that local politics and political mobilisation along ethnic lines could be behind their fallout.

The Azimio allied governor claimed that Gachagua had made a declaration to the effect that any leader from the region who was not present at the Presidential meeting in Kakamega, is not working with them.

Problems started

“From that day, my deputy became very big headed. Actually, I have never seen her since that time. The problems started with the Kakamega function, which I did not attend. With hindsight, I wish I had gate-crashed the President’s meeting, I would have avoided all these problems,” said Natembeya.

Governor Natembeya County told the Wajir Senator Sheikh Abass led committee that he was not invited to the meeting and was the target of the statement.

According to the former Regional Commissioner turned Governor, Kapkory received an invitation, through the office of the deputy president, clearing her to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in the USA in September together with five other governors.

In a session chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute, Natembeya said that despite telling his deputy not to attend the meeting, she went ahead and attended the same. Natembeya narrated that he told his deputy that the invitation was unprocedural as it should have been done through the governor’s office, adding that there was no immediate benefit of the meeting to the county government as the county had to facilitate her. “In principle, I told her not to travel but she travelled. From the time she travelled on September 14, I have been waiting for her to come and explain to me why she travelled without express approval as has been before in other meetings,” he said.

He went on: “That statement that Natembeya is no longer with us because he is not here made her believe that she can actually marshal powers-that-be to get me out of the way so that she can become the governor. The letter also came from his office and I believe he is the source of all these problems.”