Gathungu blasts Gachagua over 'Sufuria Empowerment'

By Newsflash Writer

Leshau Pondo Member of County Assembly (MCA) Kamau Gathungu has sharply criticized Ndaragwa MP George Gachagua for distributing sufurias to women as a form of empowerment, dismissing the move as outdated and insulting to the needs of local residents.

Speaking on Sunday during a development fundraiser at Uruku Muririchua Elim Church, Gathungu ridiculed the initiative, which saw over 600 women in Murichu village receive sufurias delivered using a National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) vehicle.

“The time for distributing sufurias to the locals is long gone. If you wish to distribute sufurias, you can use your wife to distribute them, but not a GK vehicle,” Gathungu said, drawing applause and laughter from the congregation.

He questioned the logic behind such gestures, noting that other regions were offering much more meaningful support to residents.

Ndaragwa MP George Gachagua. Photo/Handout

“When we look at some areas in the country, the youth are empowered by being given motorbikes, power saws, Nissan matatus. In our area, for instance, I saw that the only thing our MP [Gachagua] can afford to bring us is distributing sufurias to some women,” he said.

Call for real empowerment initiatives

Gathungu emphasized that what the community needs is tangible, transformative empowerment programs, and not handouts.

“We would like to see real empowerment to our young men…we would like to see them being given motorbikes and farming machines (nyoka nyoka) to enable them farm tomatoes, cabbages and other horticultural products because River Pesi is just within us,” he stated.

The NG-CDF vehicle that was distributing sufurias to women at Muririchua area, Ndaragwa constituency. Photo/Handout

He lamented that the sufuria distribution resembled tactics once used by lower-level political aspirants to gain popularity.

“Sufurias can only be distributed by someone vying for an MCA or a Woman Representative position when trying to endear themselves to the masses,” Gathungu added.

He further argued that if the MP genuinely wished to support residents, he should channel food items or household goods to local schools and institutions, where they would make a bigger impact.

“Distributing foodstuffs is not bad… but they would serve a great purpose if they were distributed to institutions like Uruku and Irigithathi secondary schools… and other surrounding schools,” he said.

Comparisons with other constituencies

The vocal MCA also cited development efforts by other MPs in the region, particularly Ndindi Nyoro of Kiharu and Wanjiku Muhia of Kipipiri, as models worth emulating.

He noted that students in those areas were paying as little as Sh1,000 in school fees due to targeted support from their elected leaders.

Some of the sufurias distributed by Ndaragwa MP George Gachagua. Photo/Handout

“It would be good if such foodstuffs would be distributed to help on the paying of school fees for students like the way we have been seeing in Ndindi Nyoro’s Kiharu constituency as well as Wanjiku Muhia’s Kipipiri, where students pay a school fee of Sh1,000 only. Is Ndindi Nyoro not an MP like others?” Gathungu posed.

Gathungu, who is eyeing the Ndaragwa parliamentary seat in the 2027 elections, made it clear that he intends to challenge the status quo and offer what he described as “practical empowerment.”

Despite efforts by Newsflash to obtain a comment, Gachagua had not responded to inquiries by the time of going to press.

Gachagua, a known ally of President William Ruto, is among several Mt Kenya leaders working to shore up the administration’s popularity following the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua last year.

The sufuria distribution event, which was publicized by local supporters of the MP, has since sparked debate on social media, with some defending it as a gesture of goodwill, while others labeled it a mockery of the real economic struggles facing ordinary citizens in Ndaragwa.

As the political temperatures begin to rise ahead of the 2027 polls, Gathungu’s remarks signal the opening salvos in a battle for the soul of Ndaragwa, where issues of youth employment, agriculture, and education are expected to dominate the campaign narrative.