President Uhuru Kenyatta Saturday led Kenyans in eulogising the late former Cabinet Minister Soita Shitanda who was buried in Tande, Malava Constituency.
President Kenyatta said Shitanda was a selfless leader who put the interest of the people and the country before his own needs.
The President said Shitanda was a leader who had a vision for the economic betterment of Kenyans.
“He was a decent man, a honest leader who was faithful until his last moment,” said the President.
President Kenyatta, however, refused to be drawn into politics at the funeral, saying that he is perturbed by opposition politicians who forget that they are at a solemn ceremony.
“I do not understand this (the politics) at funerals,” said the President.
Opposition leaders who politicked at the funeral did not, however, get away with it easily as Deputy President William Ruto, who spoke earlier, put them on the spot for lying to Kenyans.
The Deputy President accused the Opposition of lying to Kenyans that the Tuesday State House meeting agreed to form a committee to solve the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) stalemate.
Mr Ruto said CORD leeders Raila Odinga and Moses Wetangula came up with a proposal when he and President Kenyatta met them at State House suggesting that a committee comprising MPs from Jubilee and the Opposition be formed to explore ways of solving the problem.
“It is true that the President called them (Opposition) and we met. They came up with some ideas but the President told them that there was no time to discuss those issues as the South Korean President was visiting the country,” said Mr Ruto.
“But we were surprised when the same leaders went out there and claimed that we agreed to form the committees,” added the Deputy President.
On development, President Kenyatta told the residents of Kakamega county, who turned up in large numbers for the burial, that the Government will continue implementing the projects Shitanda championed.
Shitanda, who was the chairman of the Agricultural Development Corporation, was a development minded politician and was described by President Kenyatta as “a man of action”.
The President said works to complete the construction of the Malava-Kakamega road will start soon after the Government changed the contractor who delayed the job.
President Kenyatta said the Government will also spend Sh380 million to upgrade the Malava Hospital.
The Deputy President paid tribute to the late Shitanda, saying he was a hardworking leader who always placed the interest of the people before his own.
The DP described how Shitanda worked closely with him in the setting up and licensing of Butali Sugar Factory.
The funeral, which was held at Friends School Tande in Malava, was attended by almost all the elected leaders from the region as well as many who travelled from different parts of the country.
By PSCU.