Karua who is among the planners of the said meeting alongside Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni yesterday maintained that the meeting targets to come up with a ‘push back strategy’ against the Kenya Kwanza administration over what she termed as ‘punitive taxes against T Kenya electorate who are largely on agriculture and business’.
“The meeting by coming together of political leaders from different political parties from Mt Kenya region, we are already feeling the heat if punitive taxes and we want to meet to deliberate our next course of action, we are rooting for the unity of purpose to be able to look at the issues of common interest and strengthen our unity,” Karua said.
Top of the Limuru III agenda, Karua hinted, include the composition of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) the boundary review exercise, revenue allocation based on population (the one man one vote one-shilling mantra), establish a framework on how they will force the President William Ruto led administration on lowering taxation among others.
“There should be equality of the vote in the boundary review exercise. The review must focus on population, and we are saying this because our voice has been diluted in the current boundary status. We are marginalized even in the distribution of resources, and this also means access to health is being marginalized therefore causing people ill health and death. I’m also personally pushing for an equalization fund which I borrow heavily from the Canadian constitution,” said Karua.
On taxation, Karua accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of exorbitant taxes to the agricultural produce that hurt the Mt Kenya region claiming miraa, coffee, tea avocado and macadamia have been taxed claiming the taxation are with no justification.
“Miraa currently is being levied at the airport a miscellaneous tax that nobody knows about because it is not documented to a tune of five dollars per kilo. For what service is the administration giving to miraa and other crops to be able to ask for an additional tax? There is no taxation without representation,” posed the Azimio Deputy party leader.
She hit out at leaders who were opposed to the meeting wondering why it has never elicited high temperatures and excitement when other community caucuses were meeting to discuss their issues.
There is a caucus for Mulembe for Coast and for other regions all forging unity and I don’t know where there is excitement when the people of Mt Kenya say they are meeting and for that reason the administration shows signs of developing fear and branding as ‘tribalists’ may I tell them that we are several communities coming under the umbrella of the Mt Kenya region,” she said while noting that the meeting will be attended by the delegates from Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Embu communities and the larger Agikuyu speaking communities from the 11 Mt Kenya regions and the diaspora.
Karua was responding to National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa who is opposed to the meeting and who described it as an ‘ethnic bigotry meeting’.
Ichungwa dismissed the meeting claiming it was to propel the politics of ethnicity and personalities that he said ended with the 2022 elections
“Limuru III talk belongs to the past. Ethnic bigotry has no place in our nation’s future. Let’s bury ethnic divisive politics and build a united, inclusive nation,” Ichung’wah said.
However, Karua clarified that their meeting will not discuss the 2027 Presidential candidate or any other candidate saying, ‘you got to give the people of the mountain time for everybody’s dream to grow’.
“You have to leave people and candidates to grow themselves organically and then close the bridge at the time, so this is not the time and this meeting, there is nothing about declaring anybody as a leader or queenpin for that matter,” she said.
Reacting on the same meeting, Gachagua two days ago reached out to Kioni and Karua saying his doors are open for any candid discussion including the things they feel are not going on saying through him there was an avenue for M Kenya leaders to listen to each other since he belonged to the open-door policy leadership mantra.
“A good idea has a room to become a better idea and a better idea must give room to the best idea, instead of disturbing the Limuru people as they battle with flash floods, they leaders are welcome to exchange ideas, they can be accompanied by the clergy if the wish,” Gachagua said on Sunday.
As Karua and Kioni seeks to retire at Limuru for their ‘unity of purpose’ Cabinet Minister for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Moses Kuria who has presented himself as the alternative between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro even as he contends that there is a strategy to divide the region seems to chart his own political path.
Yesterday, Kuria criticized the meeting between his boss President William Ruto and Kiambu leaders wondering why such a meeting would be called without him, who is the only Cabinet Secretary from Kiambu.
“It is wrong to keep calling meetings of Kiambu leadership without the only Cs from Kiambu county. No such a meeting with EMC (Elgeyo Marakwet County) meeting would happen without Kipcjhumba Murkomen,” Kuria wrote in a photo bearing President Ruto and Kiambu leaders.
What followed is a response from Nyandarua Senator John Methu who replied ‘May be it’s because you are a Cs and not a County Executive from Kiambu or may be because they use the number of votes you got in the last election to gauge your capacity in representing Kiambu in such a critical meeting, finally why don’t you inbox the President and tell him that you feel inferior to Kipchumba Murkomen…” the response read.