Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has been the subject of debate in many Kiambu County and Central Kenya forums after he told off President Uhuru Kenyatta on New Year's Eve for 'sidelining' the region in terms of development.
Kuria's sentiments have been taken in different ways with many especially in Thika agreeing with him.
"Kuria has always been a 'njamba ya ruriri' (hero of the tribe). He never shies away from telling it as it is. As pertaining to this particular matter, he couldn't have said it better. Uhuru has been taking us for granted," Waweru Mwangi, a Thika elder said on Monday.
Miriam Wanjiku, a Thika-based businesswoman and farmer, said that Kuria was right in saying that the President had abandoned the region.
"Despite doing business here in Thika, I also do small-scale tea farming at my rural home in Gatundu North. For the first time in many years, we received a relatively lower bonus pay and the explanations we got were just not adding up yet the president wants us to clap for him," said Wanjiku.
Those are just but a few of the many residents who feel that Kuria didn't err by being 'brutally honest' with Uhuru about how some or many Central Kenya people at the grassroots feel about him.
However, what about Kiambu leaders' reactions to the same and what do their individual reactions say about them?
Here, we focus on Kiambu Women Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba who was among the first batch of Kiambu leaders to react to Kuria's utterances where she accused the MP of making the same under the influence of alcohol.
She even offered to take in Kuria for a rehab programme in a rehabilitation centre she runs within the county, adding that leaders must 'give the president the respect he deserves'.
So, what can we deduce from Wamuchomba's reactions?
1. Sycophantic
By Wa Muchomba calling for the president to be respected by not telling him how some or majority of the electorates in his backyard feel about him can only be sycophantic.
Telling the king that he is naked doesn't in any way mean that you're being disrespectful to him. Great empires in history came down crumbling because the leaders had chosen to surround themselves with sycophants who only told them what they wanted to hear; that everything was well and the masses were right behind them.
2. Hypocritical
While Wamuchomba could have been looking for the president's attention, she may have forgotten that she had to apologise to the same president when she infamously became the leading light for the newly elected MPs who were demanding for salary hikes even before they could be sworn in.
So, what makes her feel that she is better? Remember that Kuria at least got support from a section of Central Kenya electorates who felt that he was echoing their sentiments. Wamuchomba on the other hand attracted angry reactions from all electorates who even branded her 'Gathoni Wamushara'.
3. Disrespectful
Wamuchomba's reactions also portray her as a disrespectful leader towards counterparts. Call it the case of a kettle calling the pot black. Which leader goes out dressing down colleagues to be seen to make a point? Calling Kuria a drunkard who needed rehabilitation was not only disrespectful but also condescending.
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