Uwezo college, Machakos county in deal to honor Muindi Mbingu

Uwezo College director, Felix Kyengo (left) and Machakos County chief officer for Urban Development, Maureen Maingi sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Muindi Mbingu Municipal Garden in Machakos town. [Erastus Mulwa, Standard]

Uwezo College in Machakos town has rekindled the region’s history by honouring Kamba liberation hero, Muindi Mbingu through initiating an ambitious environmental clean-up and rehabilitation of a recreation ground named after the legend.

The initiative culminated in the signing of a partnership agreement between the institution and the County Government of Machakos, to promote environmental conservation through enhanced solid waste management and greening campaigns within the county’s capital.

Speaking during the ceremony hosted at the Muindi Mbingu municipal garden where the statute of the Kamba liberation hero is also erected, Uwezo College director, Felix Kyengo said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will not only boost the face of the county headquarters but will also help in bolstering the identity of the Akamba community through honoring the legendary liberator.

“We are excited that this partnership will not only breathe a new life at the face of our county headquarters but will also contribute immensely to honouring the celebrated late freedom hero, Muindi Mbingu who was the face of the Kamba liberation struggle in the pre-independence history,” said Kyengo.

Muindi Mbingu is remembered for spearheading a significant demonstration in 1938 during the reign of Sir Robert Brooke, then governor of Kenya under British rule where he led residents to recapture cattle driven away by the colonial chiefs. He was later jailed in Lamu for seven years on suspicion he was a Mau Mau actor.

Kyengo noted that the Public Private Partnership between the institution and the county government will also open up and expand the corporate space within which the two parties operate.

 “Besides our campaign for a greener and cleaner environment, we are looking at other strategic opportunities that we can exploit including securing industrial attachments for students pursuing various courses in Uwezo College,” he said.

For the past four years, the institution has been a key partner of the county government in matters of environmental conservation, solid waste collection and public sensitization on litter disposal.

The chief officer for Urban Development, Maureen Maingi, who represented governor Wavinya Ndeti in the signing of the MoU said the county government was keen on forging partnerships with the private sector to involve the public in a bigger way in delivering services.