Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his Kitui counterpart Charity Ngilu are now embroiled in a legal battle after Waititu accused her of incitement.
Yesterday, Waititu filed a petition at the Milimani Law Courts, seeking restraint on Ngilu from issuing and making any inflammatory and inciting statements associated with the charcoal business or its transportation.
Waititu argues that Ngilu’s statements have led to torching a number of vehicles belonging to business people within Kiambu County.
Through his lawyer John Wanjohi, the Kiambu Governor sought for court orders that will restrain Ngilu through her county inspectorate officers from harassing motorist all in the name of enforcing charcoal management law.
He further argues that businesses have suffered a big deal following Ngilu’s charcoal ban.
“There is nowhere the Kitui County Charcoal Management Act says that a vehicle carrying charcoal should be burnt. This is a violation of Articles 39 and 47 of the Constitution,” reads part of the petition according to the Star.
He also says that Ngilu has continued to incite the electorate in Kitui and it has spiraled to them taking the law into their hands and burning which fundamentally threatens lives and violates an individual’s rights.
In court papers, Waititu lays it bare explaining that on February 8, Ngilu in company of inspectorate officers stopped a lorry belonging to a trader from Limuru by the name David Kariuki.
This happened at Kanyonyo near Matuu on the Mwingi-Garissa highway where Waititu further states that despite the lorry ferrying loads of charcoal sacks, Ngilu did not listen to any explanation by the driver that the charcoal was from Tana River and not Kitui.
He was bundled into a county inspectorate vehicle and the Kitui Governor incited youths to burn the lorry.
“The driver and the loaders were bundled into a Kitui county vehicle and Ngilu incited youths and officials from the county to burn the lorry.”
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) had summoned Ngilu last week over alleged incitement which led to torching of several vehicles in her county found ferrying charcoal.