Maragua MP Mary Wamaua has landed herself in hot political waters after a controversial meeting on the future of Kimorori Grounds turned into a display of arrogance, exclusion and open disregard for devolution.
Wamaua, through her office, claimed that invitations were issued to all stakeholders via the Murang’a South DCC. Yet county officials, including the CEC for Sports and Culture, Gachucha Manoah, say they were deliberately sidelined. This alone exposes the hollowness of the process, a stage-managed gathering disguised as public participation.
When the forum convened, Wamaua dismissed objections from residents and county representatives, insisting that government offices would be constructed on the grounds regardless of opposition. Her remarks were met with hostility from the youth of Kimorori/Wempa Ward who see the grounds as their only sporting and cultural space.
The County Government of Murang’a, constitutionally mandated to manage sports and recreation under Article 186 and the Fourth Schedule, has firmly opposed the plan. In a sharp statement, CEC Gachucha Manoah condemned the process:
“Kimorori Grounds should remain as it is, no offices, just open space. This is the voice of the youth, and my role is to amplify it.”
Kenya’s laws back him up. The County Governments Act (2012) requires meaningful public participation in Section 115, while the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (2019) prohibits changing the use of public land without approval and proper consultation. By ignoring these frameworks, Wamaua is not only overstepping her role as an MP whose mandate is limited to legislation, representation and oversight, but also trampling on devolution itself.
This is not development. It is dictatorship. It is an attempt to turn the voice of the people into a political rubber stamp.
Kimorori Grounds is more than soil and grass. It is the heartbeat of the community, a platform for youth and a symbol of shared identity. To erase it for offices is to strip the people of their heritage and future.
Wamaua’s actions are now a cautionary tale. When leaders forget that power flows from the people, they risk turning public participation into a political stage-play and in doing so, expose themselves as the real obstacle to progress.
