Your mouth is a blessing, Natembeya tells Kipchumba Murkomen

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya has taken a swipe at Elgeyo Marakwet Senator for criticising his political ambitions.

On Wednesday January 26, Natembeya said the Senator was envious of and bitter about the great achievements he accomplished in the two years he was a regional commissioner.

While reaffirming his resolve to run for Trans Nzoia’s governor's seat in the forthcoming August 9 polls remains unwavering, he said some politicians had developed cold feet after learning of his move.

Murkomen and Tiaty MP William Kamket have since publicly opposed Natembeya’s venture into politics after they crossed paths during his time as a regional administrator.

“George Natambeya aspires to be the Governor of Trans Nzoia which is a cosmopolitan county. Judging from his performance as RC, such a polarising, hateful and vengeful dictator is not good for the peace and unity of Trans Nzoia. I hope the new RC will be apolitical, focus on peace and conflict resolution,” Murkomen posted on Twitter. 

Natembeya tells of Murkomen

But Natembeya in a rejoinder on Citizen TV’s JKL show said Murkomen was a ‘narrow-minded politician with a bloated ego' and thus he has nothing to tell him about governance.

“I have been in government for 26 years, Murkomen has been a politician for 10. He has nothing to tell me about government so wacha tuheshimiane tu, yeye afanye kazi yake na mimi nifanye yangu,” Natembeya said during the interview.

He said it is unfortunate that Murkomen harbours anger and bitterness over things that have nothing to do with him as a person.

“The Senator had issues with how I handled the Mau Forest [evictions]. He came with ego thinking that he would intimidate and bully me. Unfortunately, he found a rock in Natembeya. He hit it and injured himself. He has never recovered and that is why he hates me,” he said.

Natembeya said Murkomen and his brigade would even blame him when invited by DCI to clarify certain matters.

“Murkomen’s mouth has been a blessing to me, he basically made me and I would like him to come to Trans Nzoia and say what he has been alleging because the more he paces his mouth the more people love me,” said Natembeya.

Why Natembeya got into politics

The former RC said he ventured into politics to sanitise and dispel the notion that politics is a murky affair that only seasoned politicians can venture into. This he said will motivate youth and women to contest for elective positions without having to worry about perceived political bigwigs.

“Politicians want to make it murky so that they scare some of us from entering that field. You know if you are being insulted, your family will be insulted and that is what they believe in but we still want to go in," said Natembeya.

“This region lacks focused leadership and that is why I have sacrificed all the luxuries. I know if I had stayed where I was any incoming government would have actually promoted me to PS or CS. That would have been about me getting promoted but this time around it is not about me but the people of Trans Nzoia,” he said.