Irungu Kang’ata: My letter to president has vindicated me

Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata now says the viral letter he penned president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2021 has vindicated him.

Kang’ata said the defections that have been witnessed in the Jubilee party is a manifestation of the concerns he had wanted the president to address.

Pilloried and denied by his colleagues, then-Senate Majority Whip, Kang’ata came out to defend the controversial letter saying he had no regrets and insisting that his side was braving heavy attack from opponents.

Kang’ata said that he had zero regrets for "reporting the truth as per the wishes of my constituents", but he regretted the "leakage of the letter".

In a tweet, the Senator noted that the letter found its way to the media through "someone else" who had been copied, expressing some regret for the same.

"Kindly though the letter dated 30th December is authentic…I didn't give it to the media. Someone else who had been copied did.

"I apologise for that. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have copied no one else," he said.

Adding: "Trust substantive issues raised in the letter will be remedied."

In the letter, Kang’ata claimed that based on his observations, only two out of 10 people in Central Kenya support the Building Bridges Initiative.

He called for proper research methodology to be employed but urged the pro-BBI team to change tact to avoid embarrassment in case the reforms were subjected to a vote.

Further, the senator stated that the BBI contains many benefits for the region which may be lost forever, especially in a situation where ‘their son’ is not in the driving seat.

"The BBI contains many benefits for the region, which, if it fails, may be lost forever. There is no guarantee that a new regime, where 'our son' is not on the driving seat, will offer these benefits to the region," he says.

The benefits he lists include the creation of new constituencies, embedding the ‘one man, one shilling, one vote' principle in the Constitution, and dedication of more resources to the counties.

If BBI fails, he says, the region's smaller constituencies like Mukurwe-ini, Othaya and Mathioya will be scrapped by the electoral body for failing to meet the requisite population quotas set by Article 89 of the Constitution.

Speaking at Kasarani where he attended the UDA National Delegates Convention Kang’ata said if the president had interrogated the issues he had pointed out, he would have save Jubilee from falling apart.

“The mass defections we have seen is a clear indication that I have been vindicated by that letter. It was such a decoy to push out Deputy President William Ruto and bring in Raila,” he said.

He said as a result, those who were punished moved on swiftly and working to ensure that Ruto clinches the presidency.

“We are Christian and truthful, we shall stick to the 10-10 agreement and ensure that Ruto becomes president after Uhuru,” he said.

Kang’ata said the entire UDA fraternity is focused on problems affecting Kenyans and not positions.

“We are focused on youth unemployment and plight of farmers. As long as we address the issues, it doesn’t matter who is on the ticket as running mate,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by former Energy CS Charles Keter who said the defections witnessed across the political divide enhances the strength of UDA.

“What is happening is not surprising because we are now in that season of political defections. We are now begging a new political process and we are well prepared for it,” said Keter.

Soi MP Caleb Kositany said UDA remains a party that cares about the ordinary, where everyone’s view is welcome.

“We have over 5,800 aspirants who are contesting for various seats. All the attendees you see here are dully registered and confide members from across the constituencies,” said Kositany.