Residents rebuff Uhuru’s appeal to Makueni leaders to reconcile
What you need to know:
- It was evident the people were determined to send a clear message to the President that they were fed up with endless wrangles between Governor Kivutha Kibwana and the county assembly.
- The memorandum, seen by the Sunday Nation, was explicit with the people asking President Kenyatta to respect their sovereign will as enshrined in the Constitution because they are the ones who initiated the dissolution process.
- The President’s comments were taken to mean that his government should not be blamed for failing to stop dissolution as the law doesn’t give him any powers to intervene and force dialogue.
Residents of Makueni County have rebuffed calls to reconcile their leaders and urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to expedite the process of dissolving their troubled county.
The President came face to face with the residents when he toured Makueni County to inspect the progress of the standard gauge railway project.
His plea at a public meeting on Friday at Mtito Andei market for local leaders to dialogue and save the county from a possible by-election were met with jeers of disapproval from the audience.
This prompted President Kenyatta to say that if leaders couldn’t agree, then the dissolution process will proceed in accordance with the law.
“If you can’t reconcile and work together till 2017 elections, then the law will take its course” he said, adding that his job as President in resolving the political wrangles is very minimal.
It was evident the people were determined to send a clear message to the President that they were fed up with endless wrangles between Governor Kivutha Kibwana and the county assembly.
Earlier, the locals jeered and refused to be addressed by MCAs, forcing Eastern regional commissioner Claire Omollo to stop inviting them.
SOVEREIGN WILL
The Head of State was given a memorandum asking him to establish without delay a tribunal to look into the people’s petition that was presented to him on November 21, last year.
The memorandum, seen by the Sunday Nation, was explicit with the people asking President Kenyatta to respect their sovereign will as enshrined in the Constitution because they are the ones who initiated the dissolution process.
The President’s comments were taken to mean that his government should not be blamed for failing to stop dissolution as the law doesn’t give him any powers to intervene and force dialogue.
According to Mr Francis Mailu, who chaired the committee that collected 50,000 signatures, the people want their county government dissolved to give them a fresh chance to elect a team of leaders who can work together in harmony.
“We thought by now the President would have named the tribunal to hear our petition as per the law, but the visit gave us a perfect chance to engage him on the issue that has preoccupied us for two years” said Mr Mailu, adding that the two arms of county government have irreconcilable differences.
Mr Mailu, who is also the Wiper party county chairman, said the petition had received overwhelming support from the residents.
