Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba slammed Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, accusing him of embarrassing the county at the just-concluded Devolution Conference.

The outspoken legislator was of the view that the annual conference is a prestigious forum where counties are given the exclusive chance to showcase their success stories, innovations, and potential for the future to the nation and the world.

She praised Murang’a County, led by Governor Irungu Kang’ata, for utilizing the platform well, noting that the county “stood tall” with futuristic projects in health technology, food security, and digitization of approvals. To her, that was the kind of innovation that was expected from county leaders who were overseeing billions of shillings in public funds.

But when it came to Kiambu, Wamuchomba did not hold back her disappointment. She accused Governor Wamatangi of turning the county into a laughingstock by showcasing piglets and chicks as symbols of progress.

“Meanwhile, Kiambu under Governor Kimani Wamatangi left the stage with ridicule, exhibiting piglets and chicks as our county’s ‘success story.’ This is a travesty, considering that Kiambu is the biggest county economically,” she lamented in a statement on Monday, August 18.

The Githunguri MP stressed that Kiambu is not just any other county; it is one of Kenya’s most resource-rich and enjoys substantial allocations from the national government. She pointed out that Kiambu receives more than Ksh13 billion annually from the exchequer and raises an additional Ksh6 billion from local revenue.

In her view, this kind of budgetary muscle should be producing industries and large-scale projects, not “token handouts” that fail to create long-term change.

“With over Ksh13 billion annually from the national government and another Ksh6 billion from own-source revenue, Kiambu ought to be showcasing thriving pork industries producing millions of sausages; value-added poultry and egg industries packaging millions of trays of eggs and tons of chicken meat; banana value-addition chains churning millions of kilograms of products; advanced dairy processing plants scaling up milk and dairy products,” she declared.

Instead, she dismissed Wamatangi’s empowerment programs as ineffective and outdated.

“The era of handouts disguised as empowerment is long gone. Kiambu needs industries to create jobs. When people have jobs and money in their pockets, they can buy piglets, chicks, or whatever they need, not queue for freebies,” she argued.

Wamuchomba further questioned the governor’s support for farmers, insisting that Wamatangi’s approach lacked long-term planning and market guarantees.

“Where do the farmers he is giving piglets and chicks buy animal feeds from, and at what prices? Why can’t he adopt Kang’ata’s subsidies model to cushion them? Where will these farmers sell mature pigs and chicken? Why can’t the county revive a bacon factory in Uplands Limuru to guarantee a ready market?” she posed.

She also criticized his maize seed distribution initiative, saying it was not backed by the necessary infrastructure to support farmers in the long run.

“Having supplied maize seeds to farmers, why can’t he support and operationalize an animal feed manufacturing factory to sustain the pig and poultry sector?” she asked.

Beyond agriculture, Wamuchomba accused Wamatangi of neglecting innovation and technology that could transform service delivery in the county.

“Why can’t he adopt Murang’a’s ICT innovation model in hospitals to improve efficiency, operations, supply management and approvals for construction industry?” she concluded.