President William Ruto on Sunday (October, 23) visited Kitui County for a thanksgiving service hosted by AIC Kitui Township in Kitui town. Kitui Governor Julius Malombe, Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbai, and the host Makali Mulu of Kitui Central made special requests to President Ruto during the service.
Governor Malombe asked for the insecurity issue to be addressed suggesting that it can be solved when a cutline is built on the Kitui-Tana River border because it has been a getaway for intruders from neighboring counties.
“The conflicts along our borders affect around six wards and sometimes it becomes worse because the camel herders invade our lands and in turn, our people resist that. One possible solution is that we have a cutline from the lowest ward up to where we border with Meru. We want to request to have police stations in each of the wards that border Tana River county after the cutline is done,” Governor Malombe added.
Governor Malombe also requested President Ruto to help him in developing sand dams in 40 wards in Kitui where the County Government of Kitui is planning to do 60 earth dams in each ward to ensure integrated agriculture to boost food production. Malombe said he will work together with the government to ensure that there is service delivery to the people of Kitui.
Kitui Central MP Makali requested the President to make sure that those who were affected during the construction of the Kibwezi-Kitui-Mbondoni road are compensated because most of them are yet to be compensated five years down the line.
On matters of security, MP Mulu said that the national government should intervene because there have been cases of conflicts between the camel herders and the residents of Kitui which has led to the killing of some people in Kitui South and in turn some residents killing camels belonging to Somali people.
Makali also requested President Ruto to aid in the construction of the stalled Umaa Dam which was started over ten years ago and will help the people of Kitui Central in getting enough water for domestic use and irrigation. Makali reiterated that he is ready to stay at the opposition just like his Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to provide oversight and correction to the government.
His counterpart from Kitui East pointed out that the Kamba community is in the government and is proud of President Ruto for appointing former Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, Penina Malonza, and Monica Juma to top government positions.
“We are grateful for your visit to Kitui, we have problem of water in our county and other problems, and we request that you invite us together with the governor and other leaders from Kitui to come and address our issues to you and our plan on how Kitui can get water. Our Governor has mapped out a good plan on how to get enough water in our county and he will address the issue. Our people are hungry, we request that we get the share of relief food meant for famine-stricken counties so that our people can survive the three months before they harvest in February next year after rains come,” Nimrod said.
Mbai requested President Ruto to fulfill his promise when he was campaigning in Kitui to finance the construction of Nzamba Kitonga Memorial hospital and KMTC campus in Mutitu, Kitui East which will be of great help to the people of Kitui East and parts of Kitui South and Mwingi Central.
On matters of border conflicts witnessed in Kitui South, Kitui East, and Mwingi North, Mbai said that he appreciates that the security team in Kitui and Eastern Region have taken the matter seriously and they have promised that a permanent solution will be found. Mbai urged the national government to bring more vehicles for the security officers which will help them navigate in the areas experiencing insecurity since logistics has been their main challenge.
