'Bread-based, not broad-based': Natembeya tears into government hypocrisy

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya. [Martin Ndiema,The Standard]

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has accused the national government of hypocrisy, claiming leaders use a so-called broad-based approach to silence critics while rewarding tribal voting blocs.

Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, July 9, Natembeya said the push for a broad-based government is nothing but a ploy to neutralise dissent by co-opting potential critics into government positions.

"Broad-based government is an escape from accountability, that the people who are supposed to be criticising you join the eating table and therefore they keep quiet," noted Natembeya.

"It is actually bread-based, not broad-based," he added.

Natembeya argued that while the national government rewards ethnic voting blocs, his administration in Trans Nzoia reflects the country's diversity.

"My government has got all the communities, I have balanced that way," explained Natembeya.

"If I was to behave the way the national government behaves and say I was voted for by 80 per cent of Luhyas, I would give them 80 per cent of everything. But I realised this is a cosmopolitan county and I gave slots to people who did not vote for me. Why can't the national government do that?"

The governor drew parallels between recent protests in Nairobi and chaos witnessed during opposition tours in Western Kenya, claiming the state has tolerated or even enabled violence.

"So what happened in Nairobi, where you saw people carrying rungus while working with police officers, was the same thing," observed Natembeya.

"A member of parliament from Sirisia comes in the morning with a tipper full of stones, then gets about one thousand young people, incites them and gives them money. The most unfortunate thing is that local police join these people," he noted.

Natembeya criticised the government's use of terrorism charges against young protesters arrested during the June 25 demonstrations, calling it an intimidation tactic.

"They arraigned people in court, all of them below the age of twenty-five, and they are being charged with terrorism. Why terrorism?" questioned Natembeya.

"You just want to intimidate, the highest charge almost on land, so that you fear because once it is confirmed, then you are jailed for more than thirty years."

While acknowledging dissatisfaction with President William Ruto's administration, Natembeya urged opposition leaders to offer practical solutions ahead of the 2027 elections.

"Of course, I have been also telling my colleagues as we move out there quietly, I am asking them, okay, as we are saying Ruto must go, what alternative in terms of plans do we have to sort out these issues?" posed Natembeya.

Natembeya noted that he has moved beyond ethnic politics and remains focused on development in Western Kenya.

"Like for me, I even stopped focusing on Mudavadi and Wetang'ula because for me they are history," added Natembeya, adding, "We are looking at how we manage our region properly and ensure that we have access to whatever we are entitled."

The governor accused the Senate of demanding bribes from governors under the guise of oversight, describing the system as "an organised kiosk."

"It is like when you land in Nairobi, now governor has come, everybody wants money," explained Natembeya, saying, "How do you do oversight? Where am I going to get that money? I have to raid my treasury and give you money. It is going to be another audit query that you will be querying in the next financial year, yet you are the one who ate the money."