Kihika's hits, misses in State of the County address

Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika. [File, Standard]

Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika gave a brief State of the County speech on Wednesday afternoon at the County Assembly, detailing her achievements over the last three years.

The governor had publicly admitted that she had not done anything because she was working on completing projects initiated by her predecesor.

At the assembly, however, Kihika said that in the 2024/2025 Financial Year, the county had made developments in the agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, geothermal energy, and real estate sectors.

"The establishment of industrial parks, value-added initiatives, business-friendly tax reforms, and improved infrastructure are enhancing investment potential," she told the assembly.

Kihika pointed out that the County Treasury Building was 90 per cent complete and the same would ensure centralized financial functions, improve security, enhance interdepartmental coordination, and support ongoing automation and data-driven reforms.

The county has also cleared over Sh140 million in pending bills, easing supplier pressure and reinforcing financial reliability.

"Revenue mobilization, automation, and asset management has led to the increase of own-source revenue by 11 per cent; from Sh3.29 billion in 2023/2024 to Sh3.64 billion in 2024/2025." Kihika said.

Among the county's achievements, Kihika said, was the County Aggregation and Industrial Park in Njoro, which was 45 per cent complete with an investment of Sh173.1 million.

The governor added that the county had rehabilitated 45 Economic Stimulus Programme markets and constructed 23 others to provide vibrant and organized spaces for local traders.

"My administration has strengthened the co-operative movement by conducting 548 training sessions, reviving nine dormant co-operatives, registering 125 new ones, and undertaking governance audits across 568 societies," she said.

The county, she noted, had established the Sh100 million Wezesha Fund to address costly and inaccessible credit facilities for farmers, cooperatives, and entrepreneurs.

Kihika added that the county administration was providing affordable loans at 8 per cent and 6 per cent interest, supporting 98 groups with Sh16.3 million.

Despite outlining her achievement, Kihika came under scrutiny when she disappeared for over five months, between November 2024 and April 2025.

Within the period, she faced scrutiny over increased security issues that saw the killing of Molo activist Richard Otieno and the disappearance of fisherman Brian Odhiambo, both on January 18, this year.

A petition was filed before the County Assembly with more than 2,000 residents, demanding answers on Kihika's whereabouts.

The residents sought answers on the disappearance of seven-month-old baby Mercy Chepng'eno at the Nakuru Level 5 Hospital mortuary.