West Mugirango MP James Gesami has demanded an apology from Education Cabinet secretary Fred Matiangi over claims he undermined him during an event in his constituency.
On Friday at a function in Sironga Girls High School which was presided over by Matiang'i, the CS allegedly overlooked Gesami who traditionally should have been his host.
Speaking to this reporter on Monday, Gesami warned Matiang'i of undermining leaders and vowed to 'ban' him from attending functions in his constituency if he doesn't employ courtesy.
“Matiangi should learn to respect leaders. As the area MP I felt undermined since I was not given a chance to address the crowd. That was a bit uncouth,” he said.
“He should learn to respect protocol during functions and I think he isn’t a stranger to that. All I need is an apology because we cannot allow a civil servant like him to be used by politicians to intimidate their opponents,” he added, insisting that in future, he will be forced to ‘ban’ Matiang'i from attending functions in his constituency.
But sources close to the minister however indicated that the he was only ‘preventing’ a political showdown between the MP and a host of governor hopefuls from Nyamira County who were also present.
“I don’t think the MP was undermined in any manner because he came late and at the same time his supporters had become unruly as they were abusing his opponents who had attended the event. So it was more of preventing a possible crisis,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity since he is not allowed to speak on behalf of the CS.