Kiharu MP, Waititu given dressing-downs by Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta has again scolded members of the Tanga Tanga group that is linked to his Deputy President William Ruto.

It was Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who found himself in the unenviable position of being given a public dressing-down by President Kenyatta for “criss-crossing the country making noise.”

Immediately Mr Nyoro rose up to speak at the funeral ceremony of Thayu Kamau at Kiharu Constituency on Thursday, Mr Kenyatta excused himself and went out of the tent only to come back when the MP had finished making his remarks.

This was not the first time the Head of State has excused himself while Mr Nyoro is holding the microphone.

Last year, during the funeral ceremony of second liberation hero Kenneth Matiba, Mr Kenyatta also walked out when the MP was speaking.

RUTO MAN

While it is not clear whether the incident is a coincidence or pre-planned, on Thursday the President tongue-lashed the MP after he requested the Head of State to donate at least Sh5 million to Gitui Secondary School for development.

“I hear some people asking for money. Account for the monies that have been allocated in your National Government Constituency Development Funds which are worth Sh100 million instead of loitering the country with endless meetings and unending speeches,” Mr Kenyatta, who was visibly irritated, told the MP amid cheers from mourners.

Mr Nyoro is perceived to be Dr Ruto’s man in Murang’a County and Mt Kenya region.

The President assured Kenyans that the ongoing war against corruption in the government will continue and "not even microphones will save those implicated."

His dressing-down of Mr Nyoro has been the talk of town with some speculating that Mr Kenyatta is angry at the MP for defying his directive to halt 2022 politics.

WAITITU REMARKS

Also in the crosshairs of the President was Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu whose remarks on “going slow on war against graft because of our people in Rift Valley” irked Mr Kenyatta.

The governor, who jokingly publicly announced that he had ditched the Tanga Tanga movement and conveyed the condolence message of Deputy President William Ruto at the funeral, urged the government to go slow on the war against corruption since “our people” live in the Rift Valley.

“Even as we support the war against the graft, we should remember that our people are in Rift Valley and I request that we approach this war together as a team just the way we joined hands in 2013 with our brothers in Rift Valley,” he said.

Mr Odinga dismissed Mr Waititu for the remarks, telling him that nobody should blackmail or threaten any Kenyan since “when they steal they do so for [themselves not on behalf of a community].”

Although the President did not respond to the governor in the podium, he reprimanded and scolded him after the burial.

Multiple sources, who included several MPs told the Nation, that the President scoled Mr Waititu and told him to his face to stop petty politics.

“We were waiting for the body of the deceased to be mounted in the hearse just outside the tent when the President scolded Mr Waititu and told him off, accusing him of playing dirty petty politics. He was very furious and the governor did not respond,” an MP who sought anonymity told the Nation.