Where county bosses fail to turn up for hand-over fetes

Nyandarua has become a county where outgoing governors do not hand over power to their successors with the onus left to county secretaries.

Last week, Governor Moses Badilisha received the instruments of power from the acting County Secretary, Muigai Wainaina, because his predecessor, Francis Kimemia, did not attend the ceremony.   It was a replay of 2017 when Kimemia also received instruments from the then acting County Secretary Dan Irungu after a protocol hitch that saw the then outgoing Governor Daniel Waithaka kept waiting in the office as the ceremony was going on at ol-Kalou Stadium.

 The same played out last Thursday as residents, who gathered at the ol-Kalou Arboretum — where Badilisha was sworn-in by Milimani Judge Justice Cecilia Gichuhi — “chased away” the official car that Kimemia had been using. This was soon after the GVN number plate was removed from it and put on the one belonging to Badilisha.

 Wainaina told the gathering that Kimemia could not attend the ceremony because he was attending the burial of a close relative.

 “The outgoing governor could not attend this important occasion because he is bereaved. He lost a very close relative and the burial is today,” he said.