UHURU DISAPPOINTED BY RUTO- MUDAVADI PACT

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday held a meeting with a cross-section of Western Kenya leaders who paid him a courtesy visit at State House, Nairobi.

President Kenyatta assured the leaders, who were drawn from the five Western region counties (Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Trans-Nzoia and Vihiga), of the government’s commitment to ensure all ongoing development projects in the populous region are completed on schedule.

Given that the meeting was held just a few days after Deputy President William Ruto and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi announced that they had resolved to work together, the Head of State made his feelings on the deal known.

He termed former Vice President Mudavadi’s move to side with Dr Ruto instead of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga as “misguided and disappointing”.

According to MPs who attended the meeting, Uhuru described the new formation as a betrayal.

On their part, the leaders who included Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and Governors Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega), Wycliffe Wangamati (Bungoma), Wilbur Ottichillo (Vihiga) and Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia) thanked the President for the various development projects which they said had transformed the lives and wellbeing of the people of Western Kenya.

The leaders particularly thanked President Kenyatta for his timely intervention that led to the de-gazettement of Chetambe Hills as a national forest reserve.

The enforcement of the July 2021 gazettement of the heavily-settled 406-acres of land would have led to the displacement of over 10,000 residents of Maraka and Mihuu Wards in Webuye East constituency, Bungoma County.