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Ngilu and Musila use radio to copiously tear into each other with ferocious fangs

 Former Kitui Senator David Musila and governor Charity Ngilu recently literally gave a sneak preview of what is likely to transpire in the 2022 polls campaigns by going at each other’s neck in a bear-knuckle political combat.


 
Former Kitui Senator David Musila during a public function in Mwingi Central Sub- County in Kitui in March this year. Photo/MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT

In a no-hold-barred verbal attack and counter-attack, the duo engaged in copious mudslinging behind the microphone in their own Kamba language radio stations.  

Musila, a one-time Kitui senator and former long serving Mwingi South (now Mwingi West) MP was the first to launch political salvos at Ngilu during a morning talk show at his own Kitui town-based County FM radio station.  

On her part and badly pricked and angered by the unflattering remarks directed at her leadership as the current Kitui governor by Mr Musila, Mrs Ngilu found solace in her own Mbaitu FM that broadcasts from Nairobi to disparage, dispel and demolish Musila’s accusations.

During the talk show, Musila who was hosted by top presenter, Elias Ngari, had declared that he would seek to dislodge Ngilu as the Kitui Governor “because she had failed in her leadership of the County”. He described governor’s performance as below par. 

The former senator cheekily asked Ngilu to join Kitui county residents in prayer to seek divine intervention for him to take after her as the next governor after 2022 general election. He said the only way to salvage Kitui from Ngilu’s poor leadership was by him becoming the county boss.

“I call on all people of Kitui County including governor Ngilu herself to pray for me to be elected the next governor at the impending general election,” said Musila.

He said without divine intervention all humanly efforts would be futile and it was much the reason why he sought prayers. Musila was emphatic that time was ripe for him to take the county’s top seat and salvage the suffering Kitui populace.

The former senator has set his eyes at unseating Ngilu in the August 9th, 2022 polls.  Others salivating at Ngilu’s seat are her predecessor, Dr. Julius Malombe, Kenyan Ambassador to Uganda Kiema Kilonzo and former Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke.

Musila said he was motivated to seek to dislodge governor Ngilu because she had not satisfactorily served the Kitui people. “In the health care sector, things are awful and have literally fallen apart. Our health facilities lack drugs and the requisite staff,” charged Musila.

The former senator lamented that Kitui County as a whole did not have ICU facilities in any of its health facilities. He said due to poor health care, residents usually opt for services in privately owned hospitals including church-run facilities away from the county-owned facilities.

“I recently had a relative who was admitted in critical condition at Mwingi hospital and because there were no ICU facilities in Kitui County Referral Hospital, he had to be transferred to Nairobi. Many of our people have as result of poor health care met their untimely deaths and mostly due to COVID-19,” pointed Musila.

He pledged to prioritize health care should he be elected the governor in 2022. “I shall never let my people down in matters health care. The quality of health care will be superb and drugs will always be available. I will provide health insurance for the old and those from poor families,” he said. 

He accused Ngilu of failing to fulfil her pre-election promises to the people of Kitui. “She said Kitui will be food sufficient and there will be Ndengu revolution that will put the price of a kilogramme of Ndengu (green gram) at Sh. 100 but currently the price is as low as Sh. 30. This, to the chagrin of Kitui people,” charged Musila.

“The promise that under Ngilu administration the long trek by women in search of water and heaving heavy loads of the commodity on their backs will be a thing of the past has not come to pass. Ngilu has not been able to solve the endemic water scarcity in Kitui.

The inability to fulfil her promise to the people of Kitui is what has prompted me to want to topple her in the coming election. God willing and if the people of Kitui will give me the mandate to lead them, there will be a paradigm shift from the current leadership to a result-oriented style,” he said.

But Ngilu’s reaction was fast and furious terming Musila’s remarks as misguided. She said it would be prudent for him to enjoy his political retirement in peace and stop meddling in Kitui County affairs. 


 
Kitui Governor Charity Kaluki Ngilu addressing a public meeting in Kitui. Photo/MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT

“He does not understand how some things are run. Even if you told him repeatedly, he would not know how many doctors or nurses would be required or what entails a theatre. I would request him to keep off issues of medical care because he understands very little in that area,” said Ngilu.

In an interview with Mbaitu FM top presenter, Terry Nzau, Ngilu said, “He talked of COVID-19 but we have ICU facilities in Mwingi and Kitui hospitals and ICU attendants are already undergoing training and they will be here to serve our people in three months’ time. He is ignorant of how ICU works.” 

Ngilu added that ventilators for the critically ill were available as was adequate drugs. She said Kitui County had 102 doctors among other qualified health staff. She added that since Musila appeared not to be in touch with what was happening on the ground, locals should shun him like a bad plague.

“This is a person who needs proper induction on how things are done but for his age, I doubt whether he can ever learn. I challenge him to show any milestone project he has mooted for Kitui people to match what I have done. 

I have personally initiated the setting up universities in Kitui, a Teachers’ Training College, a KMTC campus in Kitui, KEWI campus in Kitui and the Tanathi Water Board offices in Kitui among others,” she added.

She further charged that Musila had no projects to show for the many years he served in government.

“He served as a DO, a DC, a PC, an MP and a Senator but he has no projects to his name that are beneficial to Kitui people. He had all along been ego-centric in his undertakings. He only served the interests of autocratic regime while I was part of those who fought for liberation,” said Ngilu.

No water

Ngilu further accused Musila of failing to provide water to him Migwani home village when he was MP saying it was not until she became the governor that Musila’s home Migwani town was supplied with water. In addition, she said she had provided x-ray, ambulance and a theatre to the Migwani sub-county hospital. 

The governor said Musila did not have an tangible project he carried out in his Migwani home area in Mwingi West safe for building a morgue “as if he wished to see Migwani residents die in their numbers,” charged Ngilu, a one-time Health minister. 

“By putting up a morgue at Migwani, he showed that he did not have the capacity to save people’s lives through quality health care. He chose the easy way of a mortuary for the preservation of the bodies of those who died. My approach is about saving peoples’ lives,” said Ngilu.

Stressing that in her quest to ensure access to quality and affordable health care for all Kitui households and more so those from poor families, Ngilu said she launched Kitui County Health Insurance Cover (KCHIC) in 2018. 

She further said she had set aside Sh.300 million in 2021/22 budget for health insurance cover for 100,000 households in partnership with NHIF. “All this is because I care for the health of our people and this is toward the realization of the President’s goal for Universal Health Care,” said Ngilu. 

With this high-octane murk-racking between the two combatants in the 2022 Kitui gubernatorial contests and given the advantage they enjoy of not only owning but having unlimited access to their own Kamba language radio stations, it is certain the last of such froth attacks and county attacks are yet to happen.

 SPECIAL REPORT By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT

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