All major development projects implemented by Kiharu NG-CDF will be named after former area MPs.
Making the announcement, MP Ndindi Nyoro said the move was to commemorate leaders who served in the constituency and the development they effected.
Some of them, he said, worked at a time when there were no designated funds for development projects and had to go out of their way to implement programmes.
“Being an MP for the second term, I have seen the responsibility that comes with the position and it is immense. It made me respect those who came before me. Some had no NG-CDF and sometimes used their own money to do some programmes. Forgetting them would be wrong,” Nyoro said.
The largest constituency in Murang’a, Kiharu has had prominent leaders such as Kenneth Matiba and Julius Kiano. The constituency was formerly known as Mbiri before it was renamed Kiharu in 1983.
Matiba served from 1979 to 1988, succeeding Kiano who was elected in 1966. Matiba, who was re-elected in 1992, was renowned for his fight for multi-partism.
Kiano is feted as the first Kenyan to earn a PhD, after villagers conducted a fundraiser to send him to the United States. This opened the door for other Kenyans to pursue university degrees during the colonial era.
Other MPs who have led the constituency include Gidraph Mwangi (1990), Ngenye Kariuki (1997), Kembi Gitura (2007), Muturi Mwangi (2007) and Irungu Kang’ata (2012), who was succeeded by Nyoro.
Last week, Nyoro commissioned the Sh18 million Kahatia Secondary School Multi-purpose Hall that has been named after Muturi Mwangi.
The hall will be used for school events, local drama and music festivals, and communal meetings. Another hall constructed at Mbiri Primary School has been named after Ngenye Kariuki, while another that is to be constructed at Weithaga secondary will be named after Kembi Gitura.
“We also have plans to establish a Technical and Vocational College in Wangu ward and it will be named after Kenneth Matiba,” the MP said.
The constituency has attracted attention after successfully renovating and tiling all public primary schools over the last few years and is currently in the process of installing cabro in their compounds.
The robust programmes being implemented by NG-CDF in schools are aimed at heightening learners’ desire to be in school and positively impacting their academic performance, the MP said.
Under the Masomo Bora programme, learners in public day schools pay Sh1,000 per term while the rest is footed by the fund.
They also benefit from a feeding programme, which provides learners with chapatis every last Friday of the month. Kiama Muturi, son of former MP Mwangi Muturi, lauded Nyoro for recognising the legacies of former MPs.
“This initiative inspires even future leaders to recognise the contribution being made by current leaders in society. It’s highly commendable and reflects deep respect for our history.”
He said his family will be actively
involved in the activities of Kahatia
Secondary School as a way of staying true to the honour bestowed on
them by the naming of the hall after
their father.
