It is said that Kihika’s nomination favoured only two communities and discriminated against others According to those versed in Nakuru county politics, 70 per cent of the nominees come from her Kikuyu ethnic community, 20 per cent from the Kalenjin and 10 per cent from the Luo community
Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika’s political woes have taken a dramatic turn after a court disallowed her nominees to the cabinet. Kihika is said to have blamed top UDA officials from the Kalenjin community for plotting her downfall barely three months after assuming office.
The bone of contention is Kihika’s refusal to be dictated to by UDA top brass over who should sit in her cabinet. The Employment and Labor Relations Court in Nakuru quashed the list, saying Governor Kihika’s October 10 notice announcing the nomination of the 10 individuals for the County Executive Committee (CEC) was illegal and that the recruitment process did not follow the law.
The court ordered the Governor to initiate a proper legal process to fill the positions as contemplated in the law as the process was skewed and does not reflect the ethnic diversity of the county. It is said that Kihika’s nomination favoured only two communities and discriminated against others According to those versed in Nakuru county politics, 70 per cent of the nominees come from her Kikuyu ethnic community, 20 per cent from the Kalenjin and 10 per cent from the Luo community.
Sources say some UDA officials had proposed that the party be left to nominate the CECs while considering the ethnic diversity of the county. It had been proposed that the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin share 80 per cent of the slots and the rest of the communities share the remaining 20%, something Kihika is said to have refused.
Again, sources say the names the UDA top brass had proposed for Kihika for consideration were all dropped as Kihika made her appointments. The court ruling, therefore, means that Kihika will have to drop some of the CECs and appoint new ones to reflect the ethnic diversity of the county. Nakuru County is multi-ethnic, almost all Kenyan communities are found there, with the majority being the Kikuyu, followed by the Kalenjin. Others include the Maasai, Luo, Luhya, Kisii, Kamba and Somali. The Kikuyu form almost 70 per cent of the country’s population.
