Kahiga resigns over Raila’s death remarks in a stunning political pivot that’s sent shockwaves through the Council of Governors’ corridors, as Nyeri’s embattled chief Mutahi Kahiga bowed out as vice chair amid a torrent of backlash for his eyebrow-raising eulogy that painted the late opposition titan as divine collateral in regional resource rows.
Hours after his fiery Tetu funeral rant – where he quipped that “God heard Mt Kenya’s cry” over perceived Nyanza favouritism – Kahiga hit social media with a mea culpa thread, clarifying his intent while dispatching heartfelt condolences to Odinga’s grieving clan, a move that’s split opinions from the tea estates of Karatina to the halls of Harambee House.
The resignation, announced in a terse two-page missive timestamped 11 a.m., reads like a tightrope walk between contrition and conviction.
“My words at the funeral were born of passion for my people’s plight – crumbling roads, idle youth, forgotten promises – not malice toward Baba’s legacy,” Kahiga wrote, his profile pic a sombre black-and-white nod to the mourning mood.
He doubled down on the “misunderstood” bit about heavenly intervention, framing it as a “spiritual reflection on equity”, but swiftly pivoted to empathy: “To Raila’s family, from the depths of my heart, deepest sympathies.
Kahiga’s exit caps a whirlwind 72 hours for the 58-year-old medic-politico, whose UDA loyalty earned him the vice chair gig in July but now leaves a vacancy that whispers of deeper rifts.
But beneath the boardroom balm, tensions simmer: Kahiga’s outburst tapped a raw nerve in Mt Kenya’s heartland, where Ruto’s post-2022 Nyanza olive branches – like the Sh50 billion irrigation splash – grate against local gripes over stalled coffee factories and youth joblessness hovering at 28%.
“He voiced what many whisper at barazas: stepping down? That’s the real punishment,” grumbled a Tetu elder over a shared mug of muratina, his eyes on the horizon where election drums faintly beat for 2027.
Opposition voices aren’t buying the olive branch. Martha Karua, still stinging from her own funeral snub, torched the statement as “performative piety”, while Sifuna’s X retort was “Resignations don’t erase recklessness.”
With Odinga’s grave still fresh and budget battles brewing, Kahiga’s bow-out begs the question – does contrition mend or merely mask?
