The just concluded 7th Devolution Conference turned dramatic after governors declined to be addressed by Deputy President William Ruto’s Chief of Staff, Ken Osinde.
The DP was expected to preside over the conference on the last day. He (Ruto) instead chose to take his campaign to Nyandarua County.
Irate county chiefs blocked Osinde from attending the conference that was taking place in Makueni.
Those present said the DP was disrespectful for sending his chief of staff to represent him.
“We expected the DP to attend and preside over the closing of the conference. As governors, we consider this conference as an international event and not every person can execute such an important function,” Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said.
The governors also denied Osinde the chance to plant a tree on behalf of Dr Ruto. They instead left the hole empty with the tree beside it.
Read: DP Ruto Skips Devolution Conference for Tour of Nyandarua County
Taking the DP’s place was Defense CS Eugene Wamalwa.
“Thank you for responding to our call to attend this conference at the last minute as our guest,” Chair of Council of Governors and Embu governor Martin Wambora said.
Governors presumed to be loyal to the second in command did not attend the conference.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Multi-level Governance for Climate Action: Sub National Mobilisation in Unlocking the Full Potential of Climate Action during after pandemics.”
On the opening day (Tuesday), the event was graced by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as well as a couple of Cabinet Secretaries led by Fred Matiang’i (Interior), Joe Mucheru (ICT), Wamalwa (Defence) and Monica Juma (Energy).
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