Kirinyaga County ward representatives have appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene after they accused Governor Anne Waiguru of refusing to surrender a title deed for a research project.
The ward representatives also gave the governor two week's ultimatum to surrender the title deed for the 100-acre land on which the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) plans to put up a multi-billion project.
They issued the ultimatum and appeal for help after last week's meeting with the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, who also asked the governor to surrender the title deed to Kemri.
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Kemri plans to put up a Sh12 billion ultramodern centre with a university dedicated to health research, a teaching and referral hospital, manufacturing plant and specialised laboratories.
In addition, the centre is also set to host a botanical garden, an administrative office, a police post, staff houses and recreational facilities.
But the two Kirinyaga County Assembly members accused Governor Waiguru of refusing to surrender the title deed on the land that was set aside for the project by her predecessor Joseph Ndathi.
Speaking to press when they visited the area to assess the ongoing construction, Wamumu MCA John Baptiste Kanga and his Muthithi counterpart Fredrick Njomo said that they were worried the project will stall if the governor fails to release the document.
Mr Kanga revealed that the leadership of Kirinyaga County met with Interior CS Matiang'i and unanimously agreed to support the project.
“’The project is donor-funded and they have made it clear that if they fail to secure the title deed, they will pull out and take the project somewhere else,’’ said Mr Kanga.
The leaders said that they won’t allow the project to ‘die’ and warned that they will camp outside the governor’s office in Kutus town until she surrenders the title deed.
‘’We are also calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and order the governor to issue the title deed so that the project can kick off as planned,” said Mr Njomo.
Mr Njomo said that the project is set to have a positive impact on the economy of Kirinyaga County.
Work on the centre in Wamumu, Mwea reportedly stalled in 2017 and only a perimeter wall and a gate have been constructed.
Kemri is a state corporation established through the Science and Technology (Amendment) Act of 1979, as the national body responsible for carrying out health research in Kenya.
