A section of leaders drawn from the Mt Kenya region met on Wednesday in Nairobi to discuss the unity of the region ahead of the 2022 General Election.
They included governors from the eastern side of the region as those from Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties skipped the meeting.
Led by Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, the leaders said that they will make a major announcement to the people of the region in the next 10 days.
“We came together because we are one region and we are a solid people. We are a strong voting block and what we are saying is that what is bound to bring us together is much more than what can disintegrate us,” Iria said.
He said that the journey to ensure that the region is chanting in one voice has just begun.
“We are just starting a journey and this is a journey of making sure that Mt Kenya is one solid unit. We are one people and we need to drive one objective and without shying away, our vote is important.”
The governor added that everybody from the region will be included without any discrimination.
“We are going to call a meeting in the next 10 days and we are going to invite as many people as possible so that we can entertain as many views as possible.”
The meeting comes days after the coronation of the National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi as the region’s spokesperson, a move that has not pleased a section of the leaders including the Murang’a governor.
Those who attended the Nairobi meeting include governor Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), and governor Mutahi Kahiga of Nyeri.
Others were former Kiambu governor William Kabogo, former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamu, Dennis Waweru (BBI secretariate), and ex-Tetu MP Ndung'u Githinji.
The leaders distanced themselves from the subject of Muturi’s coronation, saying that it was not among the agenda that brought them together.
Muturi was coronated on Saturday at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine in Murang’a County, an event that was attended by hundreds of elders.
A section of the leaders from the region dismissed it, saying President Uhuru Kenyatta is still the spokesman.
Iria had said after the coronation that he will organise a cleansing ceremony of Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine.
Murang’a governor claimed that it was wrong for the speaker to continue with the ceremony despite continuous calls by various quarters discouraging him.