Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony is under fire for allegedly sponsoring youth to collect pro-referendum signatures in Nakuru.
Speaking last evening in a meeting attended by Mauche and Nessuit ward leaders, TNA and URP Nakuru county chairmen, Nakuru County Governor Kinuthia Mbugua condemned the activity saying residents are angered by interference into their affairs by people from other counties who want to divide them through such recruitment which they have rejected.
“If they have failed to obtain sufficient signatures from their counties, they should not think that they will top them up using the people of Nakuru. Nakuru is the breadbasket of Kenya and our people have no time for laziness, idleness and idle talk or else there will be severe food shortages. I want to tell them that Nakuru is a sovereign county and not an extension of Kiambu, Bomet, Kericho or Nyandarua counties,” said Governor Kinuthia.
The leaders who spoke during the function were a Nessuit resident Robert Lengule, who said some elders from Kericho County are distributing Pesa Mashinani booklets within Nessuit, Teret and Mauche. He added that local elders recently confiscated a carton which they presented to Governor Mbugua.
“The aim of those telling people to sign this booklet is to foment trouble. We however stand firmly with our Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, our President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto,” he stated.
Rev James Kones of Mauche dismissed the youth doing rounds distributing the booklets saying they were duping would-be signatories that they would awarded with free bodaboda bicycles and motorcycles, cash and land once they signed the referendum petition.
“We have decided not to burn the booklets but to bring the carton to our governor so that he can return it to its sender, his counterpart in Kericho. We have rejected this book totally as it is likely to drive us back to 2007 when we were misled into fighting each other by politicians,” said Rev Kones.
Deputy Governor Joseph Ruto said Nakuru is an exceptional county and thanked locals for their loyalty to the country and government of Kenya.