Muturi is not our spokesman: Kikuyu elders splinter group says as they cleanse shrine

A section of Kikuyu elders on Friday gathered for prayers after a cleansing ceremony at the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine in Murang’a.

They said the shrine was desecrated when National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi was coronated by another group of elders on May 22, 2021.

The Kikuyu Council of Elders and the Kiama Kia Ma elders insisted that President Uhuru Kenyatta remains the de facto leader from the region, in what appears as yet another display of the disquiet in the mountain.

Majority of the elders lamented that many people accessed the shrine when, culturally, they should not as they had not cleansed themselves.

“Watu hao wengi hawakuwa wamechaguliwa kuomba hapa katika Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga. Ile ilifanyika hapa tarehe ishirini na mbili mwezi wa tano ni ya uwongo, hao wazee hawajaandikishwa, hao ni criminals,” said Dominic Boro.

Speaker Muturi’s coronation barely two weeks ago has encountered opposition by a section of elders and political leaders from the region including Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria who said President Kenyatta remains the Mt. Kenya spokesman.

“We have cleansed and we have said he is not our spokesman…our spokesman remains President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta,” said Governor wa Iria.

Elders who pushed for Muturi’s coronation justified the action saying he is best placed to bring unity in the GEMA community and that it was not intended to usurp President Kenyatta’s current status in the region.

“Muturi comes from the smallest of the communities in Kenya, they are 195,000 people, Kikuyus are over 8 million, Merus are over 6 million…we have gone for the David to lead us and we are proud of that,” said one of the elders.

The confusion sparked by the looming end to President Kenyatta’s reign seems to have spread its tentacles wide.