'Mirror yourself first', Cherargei tells governors on devolution row

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has hit out at governors for openly criticising President William Ruto amid the ongoing devolution row.

Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, April 23, Cherargei instead blamed governors and Members of Parliament for hindering progress on devolution.

“We know the people who are a threat to devolution are members of the national assembly because they have sabotaged the passage of the bill almost twice. The president does not vote in parliament, the president just gave his own opinion,” said Cherargei.

He also accused governors of threatening devolution by failing to account for the funds allocated to them.

Cherargei alleged that the counties have colluded with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and bribed senior judicial officers to block the prosecution of corruption cases.

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“Before they speak, he should have looked himself in the mirror before accusing the president of being a threat to devolution,” he said.

He expressed displeasure with Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong’o’s remarks on Tuesday, where the governor accused President Ruto of taking the country back to the pre-colonial era.

Cherargei said Nyong’o was personalising the devolution debate instead of pursuing institutional channels.

“Even if governors have a problem, there is a better avenue for addressing it through IBEC or the devolution summit. I find it curious, my neighbouring Kisumu governor could have argued without necessarily attacking the president or dragging the president into unnecessary drama,” he said.

His remarks come amid a standoff between the executive and governors over the management of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).

Governors, led by Council of Governors Vice Chairman Mutahi Kahiga, on Tuesday called for the disbandment of the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), saying the funds should instead be managed by counties.

“When the President says he wants the funds released to the national government, in other words, he is skewed towards MPs. The Constitution only recognises two levels of government, the national and county,” Kahiga said.