Kisii Governor James Ongwae has slammed politicians who were allegedly imposing parties on leaders with a favour of development.
The Cord Governor found himself in unfamiliar position at a function that was well attended by Jubilee leaders under the stewardship of DP William Ruto on Sunday.
Ongwae insisted that every Kenyan had a right to choose the party of their choice, and urged leaders to respect divergent political opinions.
“Kenya is a democratic country and it is important that people’s political rights are respected. We all belong to political parties of our choice and that ought to be respected,” Ongwae said.
“Parties are vehicles and as Kenyans, we have a variety to choose from and in my case I choose Orange Democratic Movement and I am there to stay. Its therefore unfair for some people to discriminate us based on our political believes,” he added.
He challenged the Jubilee government to work in all regions without discrimination saying the prime role of government is to promote social-economic matters to all regions regardless of political support.
“Let us not use parties as a way of promising development. I don’t have to be in a certain party to be assured of support from the national government. It’s upon the government to work for all Kenyans regardless of our political beliefs,” he added, with his remarks seemingly directed to DP William Ruto.
He said Kenyans will assess their leaders based on development record and not political parties they are affiliated to.
“I am a JAP or CORD Governor and in other words, I work with people who are ready to work with me. Political parties are vehicles and at the end of it all, Kenyans will chose their leaders based on their track record and not parties, but for now, I am a member of Cord and that should be respected,” he said.