Panic For Gov Mutahi Kahiga As Nyeri Residents Storm The Street As They Publicly Disown Him, Pleads For Him: "We're Deeply Sorry"

Nyeri residents have publicly distanced themselves from their own governor, Mutahi Kahiga, making it clear that his shocking remarks about the death of former prime minister Raila Odinga were his personal views, not those of the community he leads.

Governor Mutahi Kahiga sparked a national outcry after he was filmed at a funeral suggesting Mr Odinga's death was "divine intervention" that would benefit his region politically.

One Nyeri man, speaking on the streets of the town, explained that the comments went against their cultural traditions.

He said, "According to the customs and traditions of the Kikuyu, when a person has passed away, we do not speak of them like that, especially after they are buried.

The statement our governor made was his own personal opinion."

The people of Nyeri, he continued, felt they had to apologise for their own leader's actions.

"We apologise on behalf of our governor who made those very bad remarks," he stated, adding powerfully, "I myself have never voted for him [Raila], but that doesn't mean he is our enemy."

Another resident described the governor's words as a form of "incitement" and said he was deeply disappointed.

He felt that for a leader of his stature, Mr Kahiga "spoke badly" and should have known better than to celebrate a death, regardless of politics.

The overwhelming feeling on the streets was that the governor's comments threatened to create a "wedge" between different Kenyan communities.

Residents insisted that a personal political grudge should never be presented as the view of an entire community, and that their desire was to live peacefully as one nation.