Activists use rats to protest against Sh30m gym for NyeriMCAs
Protestors walk through Nyeri-Karatina highway carrying live rats on their way to the Nyeri county assembly on June 22, 2016. They accused MCAs of misusing funds meant for development in the county. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Armed with cages full of rats and placards, the Nyeri residents marched to the county assembly and handed in a petition and the cage of rats.
- They carried placards each bearing a picture of a rat and the name of a ward representative beside it.
- The activists were denouncing a proposed move by the county legislators to put up a health club.
Activists on Wednesday released rats in-front of the Nyeri county assembly to show their anger against a plan by MCAs to build a Sh30 million gym and sauna.
Armed with cages full of rats, banners and placards, the Nyeri residents marched to the county assembly where they handed in a petition and the cage of rats. They carried placards each bearing a picture of a rat and the name of a ward representative beside it.
Protesters chanted slogans comparing their leaders to rodents and calling for their imprisonment. Not even the 13 degrees chilly weather in Nyeri deterred demonstrators.
The demonstrations were held under the banner “OperationOndoa Panya”.
According to the group’s coordinator John Wamagata they used rats as a symbol because they usually nibble on things slowly but eventually cause a lot of damage. He compared the rodents behaviour to that of MCAs.
“Like rats, these MCAs are stealing our money in the name of allowances, gyms and other irrelevant things,” said Mr Wamagata.
The activists were denouncing a proposed move by the county legislators to put up a health club and their numerous foreign trips and the hefty allowances they are paid when they travel.
HANDED OVER RATS
After an hour march from Nyeri town, the activists handed over the rats to the Sergeant at arms who was already waiting at the gate as police watched closely. Inside the assembly, MCAs accused Governor Nderitu Gachagua of organising the demo to shame them.
However, they agreed to cancel the plan to build the Sh30m health club.
Speaker David Mugo however refused to take action against the demonstrators despite pressure from some MCAs.
“Every person has the right to petition the assembly. However, we will not compromise security,” he said,
“The demo is a project of the governor but it has been overtaken by time. We have stopped any plans to build the project,” said Deputy Speaker Joel Gichuru.
“Rats or no rats we will continue to demand that projects allocated money are implemented. We will not be blinded by the diversion tactic by our ‘kifunga macho’ governor,” said Wamagana MCA Jesse Kamuri
The activists however dismissed the claims that they had been funded by the governor.
“Nobody paid us to protest against the misuse of people’s money,” said Mr Wamagata.
Additional reporting by Grace Gitau
