Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has urged President William Ruto not to lose touch with the common mwananchi.
He told the President that the first step to solving problems in the country is to keep the wananchi close and listen to them.
"Don't lose touch with the common wananchi because it is the only way we are going to grow as a country," Natembeya said on Sunday.
Natembeya also cautioned Ruto not to be blinded by 'praises' from leaders who are not revealing the real situation on the ground.
"Viongozi watakuwekea red carpet, utembee, uketi na wakati ukifika utaenda lakini wanachi huku nyuma wanauliwa na bandits."
This translates to, "leaders will lay a red carpet for you, you will sit and when the time comes, you will leave but your people will be killed by bandits."
The Governor also painted a grim situation under which police officers in banditry-prone areas work.
Natembeya, the former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, on Sunday, said the officers lack motivation as they are paid the same salaries as their counterparts in other regions.
He said during his three years tenure as the regional commissioner, not a single cent was invested in the fight against banditry.
He claimed that the situation sometimes gets so bad, that the officers can barely afford food.
He said many of the things going on in the banditry hit areas will never be told in the open and urged the president to ensure he is not ‘shielded from the truth’.
“The things that happened in Laikipia conservancy made me resolve to leave my job because you would tell someone these are the coordinates, the bandits are this side then they bomb the opposite side because the owners of the livestock are the same people we sit with on the table to plan strategies on how to finish the bandits,” he said.