Rifts widen in Murang'a County government leadership

Murang'a governor Mwangi wa Iria backed by his deputy Gakure Monyo (right) briefing the press after a meeting with managed equipment programme on the how the project at Murang'a and Maragua district hospitals will be undertaken. PHOTO: BONIFACE GIKANDI

Contractors hired to carry out interior design of the Murang'a County offices resumed work a day after Deputy Governor Gakure Monyo stopped them from demolishing his office.

Mr Monyo who is involved in a supremacy battle with his boss, Governor Mwangi wa Iria, did not report to his office yesterday, as the matter of their now public row was escalated to the county assembly.

The two senior-most county officers have had a love and hate relationship in their brief stint at the helm of the county government.

The latest spat, however, appears to have broken the cord that bound them during the campaigns, and after they were elected into office.

It appears there is no love lost between Mr Iria and Mr Monyo after the governor survived an impeachment bid by the county assembly, which he has squarely blamed on his deputy and Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau.

Mr Kamau has, however, vehemently denied any involvement in Iria's woes.

An attempt by the assembly to discuss the fallout between the governor and his deputy yesterday was thwarted by Speaker Nduati Kariuki who said procedure had not been followed.

Mr Kariuki stopped an attempt by Gitugi MCA Duncan Njuguna to discuss the demolition of Monyo's office by telling him that he needed to prepare a substantive motion about the issue.

The governor and his deputy appeared for the Mashujaa Day celebrations together presenting a united front well before their differences came to the fore.

But when the county assembly's revolt against the governor kicked off, it was clear the two allies were not sailing in the same boat. Monyo never publicly backed the governor or offered him moral support.

The MCAs who were spearheading the impeachment also let the cat out of the bag with their frequent declarations that they would work with Monyo if the impeachment was successful.

A polished speaker who is best known for working behind the scenes, Monyo first wanted to vie for the Gatanga parliamentary seat but lost at the nomination stage before he was picked by Iria as his running mate.

The governor named Monyo as among those plotting his downfall in an interview with The Standard last week before he appeared before the Senate.

Aides in the governor's office could not provide a convincing argument on the suspected link between the deputy governor and other Iria rivals such as the Kigumo MP.

But it is clear that the deputy would have been the biggest beneficiary if the impeachment had succeeded.