Bad blood between Munya and MPs threatens growth

The frosty relationship between Meru Governor Peter Munya and local MPs is threatening the smooth running of the county.

The hostilities were rekindled at the weekend after Mr Munya said he was not interested in working with the legislators.

Mr Munya said the lawmakers were part of a wider scheme that was derailing devolution.

He spoke during a groundbreaking ceremony at Kinoru Stadium.

Mr Munya accused the National Assembly of deliberately taking too long to pass the County Allocation of Revenue Bill in a bid to portray the devolved units as inefficient.

The MPs passed 23 laws that are against the spirit of devolution and will take the country to the old days, he added.

Even after some of the MPs in Meru pledged to work with the governor, there are fears that the infighting will stifle development.

RIFT WIDENED

The rift has been widened by the fact that Mr Munya is the chairman of a steering committee formed by the Council of Governors to spearhead the push for a referendum.

“MPs have never been on my side. I don’t even see them working with me,” he said.

He specifically took issue with MPs Rahim Dawood (North Imenti), David Karithi (Tigania West) and Mpuru Aburi (Tigania East) for criticising him for no “apparent reason”.

He claimed the lawmakers had no development record to show for their one-year stay in office.

“Some of these MPs are only banking on the projects initiated by their predecessors, yet they are the first ones to criticise my leadership. Only a blind person cannot tell what the county government is doing for the people of Meru,” he said.

He challenged the legislators to tell the people of Meru what they had done with their Constituency Development Fund cash.

Last week, Mr Karithi asked Mr Munya to resign.

A fortnight ago, the two sides appeared to have buried the hatchet after they stressed on the need for the county’s unity.

END ANIMOSITY

The leaders had agreed to call for a meeting of all leaders from the region to end the animosity that has riddled the county.

The clash between Meru Mr Munya and the MPs started after the Court of Appeal sitting in Nyeri declared his election null and void.

The contest had split regional legislators on one side against Mr Munya and members of the county assembly on the other.

The matter became even more complex after most of the MPs declared their support for Mr Munya’s political nemesis, Dr Kilemi Mwiria.