National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa has departed from his predecessors in their style of politics where they keep off local politics to defend the agenda of government both at the National Assembly and in public platforms.
Cabinet Secretary for Defense Aden Duale, when he was the majority leader described himself as an honest defender of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government and ‘leader of government Business’ explaining why he was always responding to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga whenever he criticized the government.
“I am ready to fight for the President and his deputy when they come under unwarranted attacks from Raila and his troops both inside and outside Parliament. Raila should know that my position is like that of the Leader of Government Business under the old Constitution,” Duale said then.
He was responding to claims by Raila that he was the President’s attack dog but vowed to continue defending the government agenda whenever he got a platform.
The same case was with Roads and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen when he was the Senate Majority Leader. He could switch television and radios to defend the Uhuruto government and to counter the Opposition’s narratives that watered down the government’s agenda.
However, Ichungwa, although he has defended the government’s business at the floor of the House by marshalling enough numbers to pass the government sponsored bills, seems to take a nose dive and is active in Kiambu local politics eliciting mixed reactions.
Those who support Ichungwa maintain that by dint of him summoning all the Kenya Kwanza leaders to support the government’s agenda in Parliament, he is adhering to his job description too well while those who oppose him claim he is degrading the Majority leader position, a much coveted seat.
Last week, Ichungwa mobilized Kiambu elected MPs to crisscross the county launching markets, a devolved unit function, on the premise that the monies have been allocated by the National government.
The meetings have been reduced to a theater of politics with the leaders brought together by Ichungwa issuing hard hitting statements against governor Kimani Wamatangi who on his part has assembled an arsenal of Members of County Assembly to respond to Ichungwa and his ilk.
Part of the Ichungwa‘s battalion that accompanied him in launching markets include Senator Karungo Wa Thwang’a, MPs Alice Ng’an’ga (Thika), John Kiragu (Limuru), Mburu Kahangara (Lari), Njuguna Ka Wanjiku (Kiambaa) Machua Waithaka (Kiambu Town), Githua Wa Mashukuru (Kabete) and Gabriel Kagombe (Gatundu South).
On Friday, the leaders led by the Kikuyu MP had their field day in Kiambaa and Limuru with anti Wamatinga messaging turning to be the take home by the locals.
Ichungwa in his address, has accused the governor of ‘bankrolling the MCAs’ to attack him and to disparage the elected leaders but ‘vowed to continue demanding for an accountability from the governor or else they support another candidate to replace the governor’.
“Yes, I am the National Assembly Majority Leader, and my business is to push the government agenda, but I am also a leader from Kiambu, given that I am the Kikuyu MP. It’s my business to check what is happening in the county government and point out what is happening there. Where the governor and MCAs are doing wrong, I will always point it out, and we will not fear anyone,” the MP said.
The MCSs led by the Assembly Majority Leader Godfrey Mucheke seems to be taking no prisoners and have vowed to continue dealing with Ichungwa claiming ‘He is the one who degraded himself by coming down to our level. He should stop hiding behind the Deputy President. He is the one who lowered himself from the national position given to him. He should just be ready for a face-off with us.”
The MCAs have said while they are ready to respect Ichungwa as instructed by the Deputy President, he must also respect them.
However, Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni claimed Ichungwa was a reflection of the leaders that President William Ruto wanted to only cheer him up and not to go after the unity of the mountain.
“The Majority Leader position should be a symbol of national unity and the holder should cut a national image but the hullaballoos happening with the holder of the seat shows you how the Head of State takes Mt Kenya region for a ride,” Kioni said.
On part Kariuki Chege, a Kiambu politician claimed it was the high time Ichungwa ‘lived In the spirit of his position’ and to avoid local politics that will make him and the government look bad.
“Duale and Kindiki never involved in local politics and they never meddled with the local affairs. He should bring warring parties together and not cause and fuel the infighting. It is unfortunate that the President tour degenerated into shouting matches in an area that has produced the Majority leader,” said Chege.
He claimed as a result of Ichungwa‘s tight engagements in fights, his colleagues have been looking for Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro to preside over their Constituency based functions as opposed to looking out for him due to his position which was more senior than that of his Kiharu’s counterpart.
“Due to his entanglement into the local politics, he has left Nyoro to use his Budgetary position to carve a niche in national politics while he is marred by conflicts with members of the Kiambu County Assembly and other local leaders,” Chege noted.
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba who has turned out as Wamatangi’s defender claimed Ichungwa should get a replacement as ‘he was not equal to his position.’
She said President Ruto “should think very seriously” about Ichungwa as his Majority Leader, saying from how he treats Kiambu leaders and planting divisions, he is not building the Kenya Kwanza government but eroding it politically.
“What do you think the 60-plus MCAs of Kiambu are thinking about the UDA government when, every day, they are in constant fights planted by a majority leader who serves in the National Assembly? Posed Wamuchomba.
However, political analyst from Kiambu Charles Munyui, defended Ichungwa maintaining that he has fulfilled his mandate as the Majority leader and that he was within his rights to demand for accountability and to engage in the local affairs of Kiambu County.
“People have different leadership styles. What matters is whether the person is achieving his target. Just like his predecessors, Ichungwa is performing excellently in the Parliament and has gone ahead to ensure that the people of Kikuyu get value of the money donated by the national government because by the end of the day we only have one government,” Munyui said.
He gave an example of the Kenya Urban Support Program that he said has disbursed money for among other areas; Kikuyu Constituency because it is a Municipality, saying Ichungwa had all the rights to demand accountability from the devolved unit of how the money would be utilized.
When sought for a comment on what was his beef with Ichungwa, Governor Wamatangi said he would not be distracted on his agenda to the people of Kiambu.
“Having been a two-time senator, I know how we lost golden chances to develop our county due to internal infighting and I have made a conscious and deliberate decision to focus on alleviating the economic status of our people. I have set my sights on making Kiambu great again. I don’t have time to engage in petty politics that are geared towards distracting us,” Wamatangi said