MP to Ruto: These are the thorny issues in Mt Kenya

Gatanga MP Edward Muriu at Gatunyu Primary School during a bursary issuance exercise, March 25, 2025. /ALICE WAITHERA

Gatanga MP Edward Muriu has told President William Ruto to address thorny issues affecting the Mt Kenya region when he visits next week.

The tour, expected to begin in the first week of April, follows a series of high-level consultations with regional leaders.

Speaking at Gatunyu Primary School while issuing bursaries worth over Sh40 million, Muriu said the thorny issues touch on political inclusion and economic development of the region.

He underscored the need for the President to ensure all stalled projects in the Mt Kenya region are completed as he promised during his last visit in September last year.

“We want to welcome the President to the Mountain because we gave him 89 per cent of our votes but we want him to know that nothing has been happening in our region since he was last here,” Muriu said.

The incomplete status of the projects, including roads, markets and irrigation projects, have put residents through a lot of suffering, the MP said.

He said he intended to present the issues to the President himself when he met MPs from the region but some leaders perceived to be affiliated to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua were not present.

“It has only been months since Gachagua was impeached and the Mt Kenya people are yet to recover from it, then leaders who campaigned for the government were removed from positions in government and Parliament.”

Muriu was among the MPs who were affected by the purge that saw MPs affiliated to Gachagua removed from committees in the National Assembly and the Senate three weeks ago.

The MP said during campaigns, the President vowed not to treat political leaders with divergent views the way he was treated under the Jubilee administration.

Muriu, a first term MP, said though he’s still the secretary of Legal Affairs in the UDA party, he has since been removed from a Whatsapp group used to communicate on party matters.

He added that he will nonetheless continue to undertake his role of legislation, representation and oversight.

“I know I have been labelled as a ‘gitungati’ but I'm not in the opposition. If I don’t tell the government when I see things going wrong somewhere, I’ll be failing in my role as an MP,," he said, referring to a term given to supporters of Gachagua.

Gatanga MP Edward Muriu issues bursaries at Gatunyu Primary School. /ALICE WAITHERA

Muriu also took issue with the Social Health Authority (SHA) that he said has not been operating efficiently, making it difficult for Kenyans to access healthcare.

“When you visit, keep in mind that Mt Kenya residents are unhappy with all these things. SHA’s system was procured with billions yet Kenyans have not yet enjoyed its input,” he said.

With reports indicating that over 250 Kenyans have lost their lives in Saudi Arabia as they sought employment, Muriu said it’s paramount for the government to exhaust opportunities available locally before sending local youths abroad.

The government initiated the labour export programme as a way of lessening unemployment and raising revenue from diaspora remittances.