A fresh row has emerged between Maragua residents in Murang’a County and their MP Mary Waithera Wamaua over insecurity in the constituency.
While the MP wants the Saba Saba Officer Commanding Station (OCS) sacked over allegedly heightened insecurity in the village, a section of her constituents have admonished her over the manner in which she has been handling local authorities.
The locals took issue with the MP for demonstrating against security apparatus in the area saying that picketing will not provide any solution to the menace but will further aggravate the situation.
On Monday, November 6, 2023, the MP led a section of other constituents to protest against police officers in Saba Saba police station accusing them of abetting crime and extorting money from innocent residents and traders.
Wamaua who was accompanied by MCAs Njeri Muchiri and John Mwangi accused the area OCS, who was posted at the station two weeks ago, of leading his officers in collecting bribes from traders, boda boda riders, marketers and locals.
Wamaua who called on the Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki to transfer the officer, claimed that early last week, he led his officers in the arrest of 10 women traders at Saba Saba market who were found in possession of banned polythene bags and later released them after they parted with Ksh2,000 each.
“This area has been very secure and we have been enjoying peace until the OCS was posted here. We had successfully brought down the uptake of illicit brews and other outlawed substances but we have seen a resurgence in the uptake of the harmful substances which we suspect is a result of the bribes that police are collecting. We will not be silent when police continue to abet crimes and today, we demand the transfer of the OCS from this station,” said Wamaua.
The MP at the same time claimed that traders operating diverse businesses are being forced to part with various amounts of money while boda boda operators are being demanded to take an undisclosed amount of money to the police station every week.
Maragua residents speak
But in a quick response to the MP, a section of residents led by Antony Ndura said that the legislator and other leaders in the area should embrace teamwork so as to slay the insecurity dragon as well as end illicit liquor brewing, sale and consumption.
Ndura said that the MP should have used the right channels to address and solve the matter including convening a meeting with the area security committee or meeting with CS Kindiki over the same.
“The protests that the MP organized yesterday paralyzed all operations in the constituency including market operations, the ongoing national exams among other things. This was a wrong approach to tackle a security issue she would have diplomatically addressed with the area security committee,” said Ndura.
They further castigated the MP for taking up unnecessary fights with government leaders including Lands, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome, Public Service CS Moses Kuria and his Interior counterpart Kithure Kindiki.
Addressing journalists in Thika on Tuesday, the furious locals stated that the trend of demonstrating against everything and creating infights everywhere will not solve their problems and urged the MP to change her leadership style for enhanced developments.
“What our MP has been doing is unhealthy to our constituency’s development. It cannot be that we should demonstrate about everything and anything instead of giving dialogue a chance. Let us embrace better ways of amicably solving our issues,” Joel Irungu, another resident said.
