Uhuru to host MPs today in Nyeri tour

From left Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina,Nominated Mp Cecily Mbarire, Nominated senator Isaac Mwaura and Nominated Mp Maina Kamanda during the Mt Kenya Parliamentary group retreat at Enashipai Resort and Spa in Naivasha,Nakuru County on October 29,2018. [Photo:Kipsang Joseph/Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to meet MPs from Mt Kenya today to address the challenges facing the region.

According to sources, the President, who will be in Nyeri to commission a number of projects, is expected to meet the leaders to listen to their grievances.

Sources told The Standard that the meeting would be held at the county commissioner's residence.

Uhuru is expected to visit Nyaribo airstrip, which recently opened up to commercial flights to and from Nairobi.

Early last month, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu, MP Ngunjiri Wambugu and Lands Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri were among passengers who travelled on the maiden flight that landed at Nyaribo.

The flight took 25 minutes from Wilson Airport, Nairobi.

Meeting agenda

Though the agenda of Uhuru's meeting with the MPs is unclear, it comes against the backdrop of a two-day closed-door meeting of 70 legislators from the region in Naivasha early this week.

The leaders discussed the upcoming electoral boundaries review and the national census.

The meeting followed numerous visits by Deputy President William Ruto to the region as he seeks to consolidate support for his 2022 presidential bid.

There has been a split among the leaders in the region, with some arguing that the DP was not the automatic Uhuru successor and others maintaining their support for him.

Uhuru is also expected to speak to residents on his agenda for the region after which he will proceed to Karatina, where residents hope he will open the Karatina open air market, whose construction started in 2010 under the Economic Stimulus Programme. It received Sh265 million, but the cost later increased to Sh367 million.