This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
September 4, 2019
Murang'a County has been plunged into a bitter political rivalry between Governor Mwangi wa Iria and Water Principal Secretary Irungu Wairagu, with the 2022 governorship race at the center of the conflict.
The war has pitted two factions against each other, with those backing Wairagu opposed to Deputy President William Ruto's bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as the fifth President of Kenya.
Concerns are growing that the rivalry could threaten development in the region and the country as a whole, given the significance of the PS seat as a national office.
Wa Iria has accused Wairagu of using government projects as a political tool to position himself for the gubernatorial seat, a claim the PS has denied.
“Not really, this is unnecessary high drama, fiction and figment of imagination of this governor,” Irungu said.
The governor has taken a legal approach to contest what he describes as being locked out of crucial projects, including the allocation of Sh180 million to sink boreholes and construct water pans in various parts of Murang'a.
The project was initiated at a time when Wa Iria vowed his office would be in full control of the defunct water companies and warned Wairagu against taking political credit in the multimillion-shilling projects.
