Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu on Sunday told a lie during a church service at the PCEA Musa Gitau Gikambura Church in Kikuyu.
The county boss was commenting on the ongoing demolition of buildings on riparian land in Nairobi when he claimed he had once served as the city’s deputy governor.
“As a person who has had a history with Nairobi…I was brought up in Nairobi and I was once the deputy governor of Nairobi,” said Waititu.
This is, however, not true as Waititu vied for Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the 2013 general elections but lost to Evans Kidero, whose deputy was Jonathan Mueke.
Waititu found his way back into active politics in 2015 after the death of Kabete MP George Muchai. He vied for the Kabete seat and won the by-election on a TNA ticket.
He later replaced William Kabogo as Kiambi governor after winning the 2017 polls.
Waititu opposed the ongoing demolitions, saying the owners of the buildings should instead be asked to cater for the costs of diverting the rivers.
“I do not support the issue of demolitions. If your building is close to a river, you should incur the costs of having the river moved a little further. But demolishing a building is not a solution, honestly speaking. It is such a big loss,” said Waititu.
Waititu’s remarks have elicited mixed reactions among Kenyans on social media, with a section of them terming the governor’s proposal as unsound and unrealistic.
Ukay Mall in Westlands was on Friday, last week, demolished a day after Southend Mall situated opposite T-Mall along Lang'ata road was demolished on grounds that it had been constructed on riparian land.
Speaking on Sunday at the Faith Evangelistic Ministry (FEM) church in Karen, President Uhuru Kenyatta said had lost many friends recently following the directive to have buildings on riparian land demolished.
“Over the last few weeks I have lost many friends. Many have called me asking ‘how can you be watching when all the destruction is going on?’ I say a time has come to fight impunity," said Kenyatta.
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