Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire has been made to apologise and clarify a statement she made about a feeder road in Runyenjes constituency that is under repair.
The Governor found herself on the receiving end of criticism from Runyenjes MP Muchangi Karemba, who called her out for lying that the county government was constructing the Makengi-Kamuraru road that is within Runyenjes constituency.
Mbarire shared photos of bulldozers on the road, accompanying them with the caption: “ongoing murraming and grading of the Makengi-Kamuraru road in Gaturi North. #DeliveringThePlan”
But a raging Karemba hit back at the governor, revealing that he had sought permission from her office to repair the road, which falls under the county government.
“Madam Governor, acha uongo. When the people of Ngoire approached me about the state of Kairungu- Ngoire Road, we wrote to your office since we could not undertake the maintenance without your permission as it is a road under the jurisdiction of the county government. Your Chief Officer wrote to us and gave us the go ahead and we did a public participation at Ngoire to the jubilation of the residents. How then do you rush there to take photos of our work!” Karemba questioned.
This revelation forced the governor to issue an apology late evening, saying the early communication was inadvertently issued, and vowed to streamline public communication going forward.
“I wish to clarify an earlier post regarding the ongoing murraming and grading works on the Makengi–Kamuraru Road in Gaturi North Ward. The works are being undertaken by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and not by the County Government of Embu, as was inadvertently stated in the earlier communication,” Mbarire said.
“We remain committed to ensuring that all public communication is accurate, verified and responsible,” she added.
Relieved, Karemba replied: “Apology accepted. Go and never sin again.”
The tussle between the two leaders left their constituents wondering how the governor could not know roads that the county is repairing.
“How would you mistake such?” one of them asked.
“Rarely things happen by mistake in politics. These are calculated moves,” another said.
