By Josephat Kinyua in Nyeri County.
Tens of rowdy youth, comprising boda boda riders in Nyeri Town, on Saturday morning disrupted an official function presided over by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Kiunjuri was presiding over the launch of Riamukurwi Water Project in Gatitu, Nyeri Town, when the unruly group, in the company of area MP Ngunjiri Wambugu and Woman Representative Rahab Mukami, arrived and immediately took control of the programme.
The impasse lasted close to 30 minutes.
It is alleged that Wambugu, who is affiliated to President Kenyatta’s faction of the now-divided Jubilee outfit, did not want Kiunjuri, a perceived William Ruto ally, to “convince his constituents into supporting the deputy president’s 2022 presidential bid”.
Ngunjiri, however, said the Agriculture minister did not consult him before coming to his turf to launch the water project.
Order was restored after half an hour, and the event proceeded uninterrupted.
Kiunjuri and Ngunjiri were the only people who spoke after calm was restored.
In his address, Kiunjuri avoided the Kieleweke and Tanga Tanga politics, instead illustrating to the residents how the water project, which is funded by Kenya’s irrigation board at a cost of Ksh700 million, will benefit them.
Ngunjiri, on the other hand, said he won’t allow leaders to politick in his constituency because “2022 is still far away”.
