Revealed: Governors memo that made Kibaki hit the roof

By Ben Agina and Felix Olick

KENYA: Details have emerged of the memorandum presented by governors to President Kibaki during an induction workshop in Naivasha that appeared to have angered the Head of State making him hit the roof.

The 47 governors made several demands including being accorded eight body guards, diplomatic passports, and three vehicles each with special number plates marked County Governor and flying the National Flag.

This is contrary to the picture created by the governors that their source of conflicts with the National Government stems from efforts by the latter to frustrate ‘real devolution’ of power and resources.

In the detailed memorandum, the governors asked Kibaki to allow them to have number plates marked CG (County Governor) followed by the gazetted number of the County then individual allocation. If the said County is Nairobi for example, the Governors want the number plate to be marked CG001.

They also proposed that each Governor be given eight bodyguards.

“A Governor should have three vehicles, one ceremonial, one utility and one routine. Deputy Governors should have two vehicles each,” the memorandum reads in part.

The Memorandum was reportedly handed over to the President before the induction workshop in Naivasha.

During workshop a visibly agitated President asked the Governors to stop demanding for power and instead deliver to the Kenyan people.

“Some people have got it wrong in their heads that what they are looking for is not in the Constitution of Kenya. We should keep in mind that despite the devolution of power and resources, Kenya remains a single unitary State and is the Constitution,” said, adding “you will be judged by what you achieve, not these other useless things!”

And moments after the President left the venue of the meeting, the governors and their deputies staged a walkout from the meeting venue derailing the meeting.

The rebellious governors and their deputies called for the removal of County Commissioners and other officers posted to their respective counties on an interim basis, claiming it all amounted to sabotage by the central government.

In the memo, the Governors also asked Kibaki to declare that the best available offices and residences be given to them in their respective counties as they await the building of Governors offices and mansions.

In the petition to Kibaki, they also insisted that Governors, their deputies and County Speakers be issued with Diplomatic passports.

In addition, they propose that for far-flung Counties, a liaison office in Nairobi should be established to coordinate the Governors and their foreign travels.

They also want to be accorded proper salutation, arguing that Governors world over are addressed as ‘His Excellency the Governor’” For Governors the world over, the salutation is ‘His Excellency the Governor’, for us its ambiguous and each one of us is left to their own devices to decide how they want to be addressed,” they said in the petition.

They also insisted that they should be allowed to fly the national flag on the cars, an issue that had already been disputed by Attorney General Githu Muigai.

Prof Muigai had earlier said Governors flying national flag on their cars risked being prosecuted.

In the memorandum, the Governors maintained that what they are witnessing is a deliberate attempt from some quarters to push for what they referred to as ‘glorified decentralisation of power rather than full devolution’.

“It’s our humble request that the spirit and the letter of devolution is respected and fully implemented and the proper mechanism for the same followed in order to give the Governors their due mandate,” they argued.