MPs in bid to counter Sagana forum

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Those content with the Sagana meeting have laughed off efforts to arrange another gathering accusing the leaders of arrogance and pride.

A section of Mt Kenya MPs who dismissed last Friday’s Sagana forum as a flop are planning a meeting to re-strategise regional politics.

The Nation has learnt that the MPs, most of them allied to Deputy President William Ruto, feel their concerns were not adequately presented in Kirinyaga and have vowed to counter the same in the coming days.

ANOTHER FORUM

South Imenti MP Kathuri Murungi, who is a member of the Mt Kenya MPs caucus, is among those who have proposed the meeting. Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has also endorsed the proposal.

Contacted, Mr Murungi said the meeting was of great importance to conduct a postmortem of the Sagana’s meeting and to review the problems facing Mt Kenya ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s planned tour of the region.

“I proposed to have the meeting because it is always good for leaders to have a postmortem of a meeting with the President and to team up with the elected leaders to discuss the region’s problems on tea, milk, coffee and other agricultural products,” Mr Murungi told the Nation on phone.

As Meru leaders, they will also have a meeting to look at the issues they would want discussed by the President when he visits the area.

“It’s a positive move, it’s good that we meet as county leaders to look at the issues that we would want discussed and talked about by the President,” he said.

Already, Mr Kuria has rubbished the Sagana States Lodge meeting claiming its only mandate was to cut to size some elected leaders and that the organisers had planned to perpetuate a certain narrative to the leaders.

The MP further claimed that the meeting created more division in the region since they only bandaged the wound but failed to conduct the surgery accusing close allies of President Uhuru Kenyatta of minding only their welfare.

“Some people are like the night bird which closes its eyes and ears and start singing and the only thing it can hear in the forest is its own voice, that’s the design of the meeting,” he said.

Those contented with the Sagana meeting have laughed off efforts to arrange another gathering accusing the leaders of arrogance and pride.

“I have heard that there are people who want to arrange for the meeting, but it is ego, pride and arrogance at work. I would never attend such a meeting, some of them are claiming that they were never shown where to sit, why did they arrive at the meeting at 1pm when they had been told to arrive at 8am?” posed Nyeri town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu.

Senator Irungu Kangata said although he was not aware of the meeting he would never attend such a meeting because he was contented by the speakers in Sagana meeting.

“I was contented by the way Sagana meeting was planned. It wasn't possible for all of us to speak as gender and regional balance had to be taken into account,” he said.