Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has warned that the GEMA community may be locked out of the next government should they fail to support Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance presidential hopeful Raila Odinga win the August 9 election.
Speaking in Wamagana, Tetu-South Nyeri County on Friday, Munya said that the recent revelation of the power sharing deal that was delivered to the Registrar of Political parties detailing how the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) principals would share power if they win the elections was enough proof that the Mount Kenya Region would be edged out in a UDA government.
“All the other regions have been considered in the power sharing deal. The only place that was left out was Mt Kenya and yet you claim that UDA is the Mt Kenya party. But as you can see, you (GEMA) do not have representation in the deal,” said Munya.
Munya said that voters in the Mt Kenya region should unite and also capitalize on their ability to deliver a high number of votes as their negotiating tool in the next government.
While justifying the coalition between the Jubilee party and Azimio la Umoja, Munya said that the Mt Kenya region had a bigger chance of having their interests taken care of by Azimio Coalition should it form the next government.
“GEMA is the largest community in Kenya and our political party is the Jubilee Party. As a party we are in Azimio because we have a guarantee that GEMA will have a say in Azimio. That is why President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga joined hands so that we can be able to negotiate for our share in the next government,” said the CS.
“Let us not be duped and agree to be divided. We as the mountain should be the ones with a big say because we have the votes. If we let these people divide us, we will not have a say in the next government and it is our right just like any other community in Kenya has a right to development. Our strength is our unity as GEMA,” he added.
While drumming up support for Munya to be picked as Raila’s deputy, East Africa Legislative Assembly MP, Mpuri Aburi said that Munya had proven to be a worthy leader going by his track record in the Agriculture Ministry.
Mpuri noted that the CS had only taken two years to transform the agriculture sector, something that had proved to be a challenge for his predecessors.
“Within two years, Munya has been able to uplift the lives of farmers in Kenya. As Kenyans, we want a hardworking leader like him who can take care of the interests of the common mwananchi at the local level,” said Mpuri.
The legislator who had accompanied Munya said that it was time for the GEMA community to united and rallied behind Raila Odinga.
He said that it was surprising that UDA which was at the forefront of opposing the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was now secretly using its recommendations to broker power deals with other political parties.
“It is surprising that those who were at the forefront of opposing the BBI are now using the document to promise positions in exchange for political support. These are all liars and we need to shun lies,” he said.
