Gachagua To Grace Nyeri Governor’s Swearing-In Ceremony

NYERI, Kenya, Aug, 25 – Deputy President-elect, Rigathi Gachagua is among over 4,000 guests expected to grace tomorrow’s swearing-in ceremony of Mutahi Kahiga as the fifth governor of Nyeri.

The ceremony is set to take place at the new Nyeri bus park situated at the Asian Quarters in Nyeri town.

According to the Assumption of Office of Governor Committee, guests and members of the public are expected to be seated by 9 am while the official swearing-in is set to kick off at 10 am and will be presided over by Justice James Wakiaga of the Murang’a High Court.

Addressing the press at the Sh600 million ultra-modern bus park after inspecting ongoing preparations, the chairman of the assumption of office committee, Benjamin Gachichio said Sh5 million had been earmarked for the ceremony. Gachichio said that the committee will dispatch over 40 buses to ferry members of the public from all the 30 wards in the county.

“The good thing is that it is an easy thing for us in Nyeri because it is continuity but all the same, it is a legal process that must be done. All arrangements have been made, and we have invited representatives from all parts of the county to ensure that the county is well represented. We have hired buses to transport them and take them back,” said Gachichio.

“We have officially invited 4,000 people although it is a public event so more people might come. Basically when we invite people officially we expect to definitely spend money on transport, maybe feed the people or, maybe give them a token for lunch,” he added.

The chairman of the committee was flanked by the Nyeri County Commissioner, Mohammed Barre, and County Police Commander, Gabriel Steve Oloo who reassured guests intending to attend the ceremony that security will be beefed up.

“The issue of security arrangement has been taken care of. This is a joint programme, there is no team that is not involved from the national government; the Judiciary, police, the county commissioner, and Ministry of Devolution are here to guide us,” added  Gachichio.

Nyeri governor-elect, Mutahi Kahiga, retained his gubernatorial position after garnering 213,373 votes in the August 9, General Election.

Kahiga who vied on a UDA ticket beat his closest rival Dr Thuo Mathenge (NDP) by over 100,000 votes to secure his second term in office. Mathenge, a businessman who is fondly referred to as ‘Wanguku’, garnered 81,467 votes.

Once sworn in, Mutahi Kahiga, will be serving his second term in office, this time as the duly elected fifth governor. He was sworn in as Nyeri’s fourth governor in November 2017 following the death of Governor Wahome Gakuru who died through a road accident after serving for barely three months in office. Kahiga was Gakuru’s deputy.

During his first term in office, Kahiga was deputized by Dr Caroline Karugu before they fell out in 2019. For his second term, Kahiga picked Mukurwe-ini politician David Kinaniri as his deputy.