Muturi pours cold water on Munya’s Meru meeting

The Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has dismissed a meeting of a section of Mt Kenya region leaders scheduled for tomorrow in Meru.

The meeting has been organised by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, a critic of the Speaker.

Speaking yesterday from Istanbul, Turkey where he is on an official visit, Muturi said he had not been invited and did not expect the convenors to invite him.

Munya has been dismissive of Muturi’s recent installation as the Mt Kenya spokesperson.

“I have not been invited and in any case I cannot attend such a meeting,” said the Speaker who has declared that he will contest the presidency in next year’s General Election.

“They have made me the topic of their meetings but that will not affect our resolve.” 

Major declaration

Two weeks ago, Munya told the residents of the region to wait for a major declaration from the meeting.

“The meeting will bring together all governors and legislators from the west and east.

Very soon there will be a major announcement on the way forward for Mt. Kenya,” said the CS.

But speaking in Meru last weekend, Muturi, urged leaders from the region to embrace unity of purpose ahead of the General Election.

Speaking during a church service in North Imenti, Muturi said the unity of the region was vital as it would boost their bargaining power.

“There is a lot of noise in the mountain. We are not speaking the same language because we are not reading from the same script.

Some leaders do not respect the views of others but want to be listened to,” added Muturi. But Munya insists he is best suited to unite the Mt Kenya region.

Speaking at the Meru ASK showground in Imenti North, Munya said the region needed a leader who has the interest of the majority at heart.

The CS said nothing would stop him from fighting for the unity of the region.

“During the Sagana two, leaders including governors, met with President Uhuru Kenyatta and succession politics featured.

The Head of State was categorical that they should talk to me on the way forward of the mountain,” added Munya.

Weak candidates

During his three day tour of Igembe ,Tigania and Imenti areas in Meru county, several local leaders and Party of National Unity (PNU) supporters endorsed Munya as the region’s kingpin.

But yesterday, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria said Mt Kenya will support someone from outside the region in next year’s presidential election.

Kuria said this would give an opportunity for a leader from another community to serve the nation.

He added that though some politicians from the region had expressed interest in the presidency, none of them was strong enough to win.

“Let us give another community a chance to lead the nation and see what different thing they have to offer,” Kuria said at a funeral in Murang’a.

He also sought to downplay the perception that the community would suffer in the hands of a leader from another region.

“The earlier the people start facing the reality the better because the next president will not come from this region,” said Kuria, who is an ally of Deputy President William Ruto.

He said there were intense negotiations among the leaders to lobby support for their preferred candidates.

“As leaders, we are ready to be held accountable to our people on the direction we are taking them,” he said.

Kuria also urged the President not to involve himself in succession politics and instead let the people decide who will be his successor.

Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata said Ruto will win 90 per cent of the region’s vote in next year’s election.

Kang’ata said UDA’s victory in the Kiambaa and Juja by-elections was indication that the residents had embraced the “Hustlers movement”. – Report by Anthony Mwangi, Wangari Njuguna and Dorcas Mbatia