Political temperatures are boiling up in Meru county as local leaders and residents accuse President William Ruto of sidelining them in Cabinet appointments.
Led by political activist Edwin Kiongozi ,a group of elders today demanded a bigger representation in the national government cabinet position citing betrayal after overwhelmingly supporting Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza alliance in the 2022 general election.
At the heart of their discontent is the fact that Meru county, a key voting bloc in the Mount Kenya East region, was only awarded one Cabinet Secretary position, a move the locals feel grossly underrepresented.
Support for Kathuri Murungi
The leaders fronted Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi for the Cabinet role praising his leadership style and called on President Ruto to appoint him on the Agriculture docket.
“We are not asking for too much. Kathuri Murungi has proven himself as a competent leader. He understands our challenges, especially in agriculture, and he’s more than capable of delivering,” said Kiongozi .
They further demanded the removal of former Health CS Mutahi Kagwe who now hold the crucial docket accusing him of underperformance.
They noted that Kathuri would be a more effective leader in pushing forward Meru’s agricultural and development agenda.
A Call for Recognition
They further blamed Ruto for ignoring the Meru community when distributing top government appointments .
“We feel betrayed despite voting overwhelmingly for the Kenya Kwanza government. The Meru people have only one Cabinet Secretary, Water CS Mugaa. This is not enough. We want Kathuri in so that together they can jointly push for the development agendas of this region,” said Jacob Mutuma, an elder.
Kiongozi at the same time demanded four Principal Secretary positions for Meru county saying this would ensure fair representation across the county’s diverse sub tribes which includes Tigania, Igembe and Imenti.
“We want one CS from Imenti and another from Nyambene, and four PSs to represent our regions equally,” he said.
Since the dismissal of former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi,the community feels further alienated from the inner circle of government decision-making.
“After Linturi was removed, we expected someone else from Meru to take his place. Instead, we’ve been ignored and this is not how you treat your supporters,” said the politician.
The elders urged the President to make amends by elevating Kathuri and appointing more people from Meru into strategic positions before the end of this year.
They at the same time emphasized that the region isn’t opposed to the current Water,Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary, Eric Mugaa, who hails from Meru.
They instead requested for another CS appointment to complement his efforts.
“We are not saying Mugaa is incompetent. He is young and capable. All we want is for him to work alongside someone like Kathuri Murungi to maximize development for Meru region, ” said Kiongozi.
The elders also called on residents to avoid internal divisions and instead rally together for the greater economical growth.
“If we remain united, we can push for more projects to be delivered to our region. But we must give our leaders a chance to perform,” he added.
