Kihika Urges Nakuru Leaders To Respect Mandates, Focus On Development

By Staff Writer

Governor Susan Kihika has urged elected leaders to abandon divisive political confrontations and focus on their respective mandates, warning that rivalry among leaders risks undermining development and service delivery across the county.

Speaking during a show at Chamgei FM on the recent violence in Kuresoi North, Kihika said leaders entrusted with public office must respect constitutional boundaries and place service delivery above personal, factional or early campaign contestations.

She said the Governor’s office concentrates on county functions, while Members of Parliament should discharge their legislative, oversight and national government responsibilities through Parliament and other constitutionally recognized structures.

“Meaningful development can only be realized through cooperation, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to serving the people,” Governor Kihika said, urging leaders to lower political temperatures across the county.

Her remarks followed disruption of a women and youth economic empowerment programme in Kuresoi North, an event she said was meant to support residents seeking livelihood opportunities and local economic stability.

Three people sustained gunshot wounds during the confrontation and were later treated at the Molo Level 4 and Nakuru Level 5 hospitals. Area MP Alfred Mutai was days later arrested and arraigned in connection with the shooting incident. Police also arrested 56 suspects after the disruption.

Kihika described the violence witnessed during the empowerment programme as “regrettable and unnecessary,” saying political competition should not be allowed to endanger residents, damage trust or interrupt community-focused development initiatives.

She said she had no personal differences with any leader, noting that she had previously supported Mutai’s empowerment programme as a gesture of goodwill, political maturity and collaborative leadership.

Despite the disruption, Kihika said the people of Kuresoi North remained “calm, peaceful, and resolute,” allowing the empowerment programme to proceed and achieve its intended purpose peacefully and successfully that day.

The Governor also used the address to list ongoing county projects in Kuresoi North, covering agriculture, roads, water, health, education and support for early childhood development across several local wards.

“Nakuru residents expected elected leaders to use their offices to solve problems, not deepen divisions. Cooperation would remain central to my administration’s development agenda in the county,” she stated.

She cited the installation of milk coolers at Soitaran and Chemare Cooperative Societies, the Gacharage Aggregation Park and the Nyakinyua Water Project, which includes borehole drilling and equipping works for residents.

Kihika said the Imarisha Barabara Programme was ongoing in Sirikwa, while additional road works had upgraded more than 30 kilometres in Nyota Ward to improve mobility and market access for farmers.

She also pointed to ECDE classrooms constructed and equipped in Nyota, Chesirikwa, Mawingu, Entaki and Masaita, alongside water projects being implemented in Temeyotta, Boron, Terekana and Seguton villages across the area.

On health, she said construction of the Kuresoi North Sub-County Hospital was progressing, with cabro paving works and the Potato Cooling Store in Kiptororo Ward also advancing steadily under county supervision.

The Governor said the Kuresoi North hospital would include outpatient services, inpatient beds, theatres, a maternity wing, laboratories and specialized healthcare services once completed for surrounding communities.

Kihika said her administration had sustained bursary programmes, TVET capitation, the ECDE school feeding programme, employment of ECDE teachers on permanent terms and operationalization of health centres across the sub-county.