The postponement of President William Ruto‘s tour of the Ukambani region has elicited excitement and speculation in equal measure.

Locals and leaders from the vast region believe that Ruto retreated to avoid shame since he has little to show in the three counties.

The highly publicised tour, initially scheduled for May 21 to 23, was pushed forward to a yet to be established date.

This followed a high-stakes round table meeting between the president and a section of Kamba leaders currently serving in the Kenya Kwanza government.

Among the prominent leaders who were present at the State House meeting were Labour Cabinet Secretary, Alfred Mutua, MPs Mwengi Mutuse (Kibwezi West), Vincent Musyoka (Mwala), Fabian Muli (Kangundo), and Joshua Mwalyo (Masinga).

Others included Nimrod Mbai (Kitui East), Rachael Kaki (Kitui South) and PSs Jonathan Mueke (Agriculture), Terry Mbaika (Aerospace development) and chairperson of Special Economic Zones, Fred Muteti.

Ruto‘s scheduled tour was cancelled after leaders in the meeting reportedly pushed for ‘a broader involvement’ of other elected leaders of the Akamba community.

“For example, in Makueni, the Kenya Kwanza government has started nothing for the people. The projects that were initiated by the late former president Mwai Kibaki, like the Konza city, are still struggling on their knees even after the same president visited it many times with countless promises,” Willie Malile, a Makueni politician and political analyst, says.

Although the president commissioned the Open University of Kenya based inside the Konza technopolis for virtual learning, the locals feel that it wasn’t the people’s project that would impact their daily lives.

“When he last visited the region, like in Machakos, he came to pray. When, sometime back, he toured Konza, he opened a virtual university and that is not a community project. We want to see tangible projects like the tarmacking of Emali-Ukia road for economic value for the people of Makueni,” Malile added.

Makueni projects that are still facing delay in completion include Thwake dam, whose completion dates have been postponed close to 10 times with only key components such as the upstream and downstream cofferdams complete.

The spillway, intake tower, and low-level outlet are at 94.5 per cent, 55 per cent, and 61 per cent completion, respectively.

The stalled road projects in Kaiti constituency, an incomplete housing project started in 1988, and the Wote stadium.  

However, Labour Cabinet Secretary, Mutua, told The Standard that the president is keen on developing the entire region.

“The president is keen on touring Ukambani so as to commission and launch numerous development projects and we need more people from across the political divide to be part of audience with him as we embark on hosting him in the region,” Dr Mutua said.

He went on, “We were able to convince him that another meeting, including the clergy, community leaders, elected leaders and other political leaders, was necessary for a more inclusive engagement.”

In Machakos County, residents have urged President Ruto to address the issue of evictions in Athiriver’s Njuguini and Slota settlement scheme, where the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) has issued a quit notice to over 120,000 residents living there.

In Matungulu Sub-County, residents want President Ruto to revive the construction of the Tala-Donyo Sabuk road, which was launched in 2014 but stalled midway.

In the neighbouring Kitui county, the residents who continue to agonize over some of the stalled key projects by the national government registered their disappointment with the president’s move not to visit the region as scheduled.

In particular, residents are concerned about the state of the uncompleted Kibwezi – Kitui – Mbondoni road, which stalled at the Kwa Siku area, throwing the area residents into a transport quagmire. 

Mwingi West MP Charles Nguna, in whose constituency the uncarpeted section lies, has, however, assured the residents that he had received an assurance from Statehouse that the section will be tarmacked soon.

The section links the key road to the busy Thika – Mwingi – Garissa road at Mbondoni and its completion is expected to open up the region for business opportunities and ease transportation. 

Another thorny issue for the county residents is the stalled Umaa Dam on the outskirts of Kitui town, whose construction works stopped over 10 years ago. Its completion is expected to be a boon for the locals who have borne the brunt of water inaccessibility for a long time. 

“We want the president to commit to complete this dam, which is a potential key water source not only for town residents but for others,” stated Mukei Makau, an area resident.

There is still also a general feeling of dissatisfaction among the county residents who feel increasingly sidelined, accusing the Ruto-led administration of ignoring the region in terms of development and representation in government.

The residents have taken issue with the sacking of former Arid and Semi-Arid Lands cabinet secretary Penina Malonza, who was the only cabinet secretary from the county. After her sacking, no one else from the county was appointed to replace her.