Governor on the spot over referendum meeting ban

Governor Kinuthia Mbugua has come under fire over his recent order banning referendum meetings in the county.

Local opposition leaders have criticised the governor, saying his utterances last weekend remind them of a long-gone era where intolerance was the order of the day and when the country was balkanised into pro and anti-establishment groups.

"His utterances depict a high level of intolerance and lack of appreciation of the fact that pluralistic politics is about diversity of opinion," said Nakuru County Okoa Kenya movement chairman Dan Ambale, who is also ward rep for Kaptembwo.

Ambale said CORD plans to begin collecting signatures in the county next weekend despite the governor's ban.

PEACE EFFORTS

The governor was quoted yesterday issuing a ban on pro-referendum campaigns in the county on grounds that such meetings are likely to tear the county apart at a time when reconciliation after the 2007/2008 post election violence is taking shape.

Ambale was speaking yesterday after addressing local Cord leaders at a Nakuru Hotel where he was with his Olkaria Ward counterpart Peter Pallanga and Kivumbini's Vitalis Okello.

He said the governor should remember that the peace being enjoyed in the county is as a result of efforts from various stakeholders including the Opposition.

"We support the county's peace efforts but the governor should know Nakuru belongs to all of us," he said.