By: DAVIS AYEGA 3 min read
NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 13 – National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has hit out at Democracy for Citizens party leader (DCP) Rigathi Gachagua, describing him as a “fool” over claims that Gikomba Market had been sold.
Ichung’wah made the remarks in Parliament while defending the government’s efforts to clear sections of Nairobi’s rivers and improve drainage, arguing that Kenyans had been misled into believing that traders at Gikomba would lose their market.
“Somebody, who can only be described as a fool, went there and told people that this Gikomba market is being sold,” Ichung’wah told the House.
He said he had recently passed through Gikomba and was impressed by what he saw, adding that the market’s progress contradicted the claims he was criticising.
Although he did not mention Gachagua by name, Ichung’wah referred to the person as the same individual who had claimed that the Bomas of Kenya had been sold to a Turkish investor and questioned the progress of the Rironi-Mau Summit road project.
The remarks prompted interruptions in the House, with Temporary Speaker David Ochieng asking whether Ichung’wah was referring to a specific person or simply using the word “fool”.
“I have not named anybody,” Ichung’wah responded, insisting that he was describing what he considered misleading claims.
The Majority Leader said the government had asked people living or operating businesses along sections of Nairobi’s rivers, particularly around Kamukunji and Gikomba, to move to allow river clearance and drainage works.
He argued that the move was necessary to prevent a repeat of the deadly flooding that had swept away people and damaged infrastructure during previous rains.
Ichung’wah cited destruction in Starehe Constituency saying the government needed to restore damaged infrastructure before another major flooding episode.
He also asked the relevant government side to respond to concerns raised by the Starehe MP over the damaged infrastructure.
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed defended Ichung’wah’s right to raise the issue, arguing that drainage and flood preparedness were matters of national importance.
Junet said weather forecasts had warned of possible heavy rains and that Parliament needed to address the risks facing Nairobi residents.
“Last time we lost a lot of lives because of poor drainage,” he said, urging lawmakers to take the issue seriously.
However, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi criticised the exchange, saying parliamentary time should not be spent on unnamed individuals and what he described as “imaginary enemies”.