Suwerwa community representatives have rejected claims by Cherang’any MP Patrick Simiyu that the recent appointment of chiefs and assistant chiefs in Trans Nzoia East Sub-County was influenced by tribal considerations.
The representatives said the appointments were made through due process, arguing that those appointed were residents of Cherangany and had a legitimate right to serve in government.
Suwerwa community chairman Jeremiah Chelanga said the appointments should not be interpreted through an ethnic lens.
“We state that the appointment of the said officers followed due processes and they were appointed. Those appointed are residents of Cherangani and have legitimate right to serve,” Chelanga said.
The representatives were responding to remarks made by Simiyu during a press conference on Wednesday, September 16, where he raised concerns over the appointments.
They called for administrative matters to be separated from political disagreements, warning that politicising such issues could affect peaceful coexistence among residents of the cosmopolitan constituency.
“We condemn the politicisation of administration issues that undermine peaceful coexistence of residents of Cherangany,” Chelanga said.
The community representatives also questioned the composition of staff at the MP’s constituency office and the distribution of National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) bursaries.
Suwerwa secretary Jonah Kwambai alleged that the constituency office staff were predominantly drawn from one or two communities and claimed that bursary distribution had favoured some groups.
“Cherangany Constituency is cosmopolitan in nature. The officials serving in the constituency office are from one or two communities, with the majority coming from his ethnic community,” Kwambai said.
However, the allegations concerning the constituency office and bursary distribution were made by the representatives and were not independently verified.
The representatives also disputed remarks by an individual who appeared at Simiyu’s press conference and was reported to have spoken on behalf of Suwerwa residents.
Shadrack Kirop said the individual did not represent the community.
“We wish to clarify that he is not a resident and not a member of the elders of the community,” Kirop said.
Suwerwa treasurer Joshua Chelanga said any allegations of corruption concerning the appointments should be referred to the relevant government agencies for investigation.
“Any allegation of corruption by the said person should be addressed to the relevant government agencies,” he said.
The representatives also expressed support for President William Ruto’s re-election bid, citing various government programmes they said had benefited residents in the North Rift.
Among the programmes they listed were subsidised fertiliser and maize seed, road and water projects, modern markets, affordable housing, last-mile electricity connections and education reforms.
The representatives said the programmes had contributed to development in the region, while calling for political and administrative disagreements to be handled without undermining relations among different communities in Cherangany.
