Mutua has a right to tour Kitui

Mutua has a right to tour Kitui

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

R

esidents won’t mind development agenda even if they are implemented by perceived party rebels or the government which is inclined to Jubilee, a rival coalition.

Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua was received in a hostile manner by a section of Kitui County MPs who insisted that they should have been consulted before the youthful governor toured Kitui County. MPs Maj (Rtd) Mutua Muluvi (Kitui East), Makali Mulu (Kitui Central) and Kitui County Assembly Speaker George Ndotto said that Mutua’s impromptu tour without informing them was tantamount to an insult to the locals.

I beg to differ. Anyone has the right to assemble and associate with others as enshrined in Article 36 of the Constitution of Kenya. However, common decorum dictates that one observes courtesy and respect in relation to his/her host. In this case Governor Mutua said that he had informed Kitui County Governor Dr. Julius Malombe and Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka who according to Mutua, he had “secured their blessings to be here (Tseikuru in Kitui County)”

One could read political undertones given that Mutua was flanked by MPs who had already endorsed him to take over as the regional kingpin from Kalonzo.  Admittedly, Mutua acknowledged the perception that Wiper and by extension the entire Cord family has seen him as a divisive factor in Ukambani. He tactfully shielded that by coming out brandishing a development card by assisting in buying school bus for at a harambee held in Tseikuru Mixed Secondary School and promising to sink boreholes in the semi arid county.

Residents won’t mind development agenda even if they are implemented by perceived party rebels or the government which is inclined to Jubilee, a rival coalition.

What the area MPs should do is to emulate Dr. Mutua’s leadership style and they will be darlings of the residents. It is in their interest to remain relevant or perish to political oblivion.

Mutua may want to trend carefully not to undermine the local elected leaders who see him as a threat to their popularity with the electorate. To his credit, Mutua has developed Machakos County but challenges still abound such as contractors who have not been paid and supremacy battles between him and Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala and Senator Johnston Muthama. He should not act as a prefect of other regional leaders.