Hundreds of Kitui County residents on Sunday staged protests against the closure of the Kitui County Textile Centre (KICOTEC) that was initiated by former Governor Charity Ngilu.
The residents who marched to the KICOTEC Center in Syongila protested an announcement they claimed had been made by their Senator Enoch Wambua.
According to the frustrated residents, Wambua was wrong to call for the closure of the company over claims that it belonged to Ngilu.
”We were surprised to hear our senator calling for the closure of KICOTEC over many claims among them that it has not been built on government land, that it belongs to former Governor Charity Ngilu among many other propaganda,’’ Kenan Makau, a resident, told the media.
A photo collage of Kitui Governor Julius Malombe and the county Senator Enoch Wambua
The residents also blamed the county government of Kitui under the current Governor Julius Malombe over what they revealed was a scheme to chase local business people who sold their produce at the entrance of the company.
Further, the residents reported that the closing of the factory has since destabilised their livelihoods as businesses that depended on the factory have also been forced to scale down their operations.
”There were times that our local women here would sell over 2 sacks of fresh vegetables daily, nowadays that is not even possible because Governor Julius Malombe chased everyone,’’ Makau added.
The residents blamed their Governor for the closure of the factory, asking him to honour the promises that he made to them during the past elections over not interfering with the operations of the company.
In their demands, the residents challenged the local government to instead shift its focus and search for markets for products made at KICOTEC from other countries.
The company was initiated by Ngilu in 2018 and started as a simple embroidery outfit stitching uniforms before inking a lucrative deal in 2019 to tailor over 6,000 uniforms for chiefs and their assistants country-wide.
The company was however a subject of controversy after it signed a tender on May 21, 2018, at a sum of Ksh66.4 million in an open tender advertised in April 2018 and that was awarded to only one company.
A section of Kitui town residents hold protests against the closure of the Kitui County Textile Centre (KICOTEC) which was initiated by former Governor Charity Ngilu.
Former Kitu Governor Charity Ngilu during a past event at the Kitui County Textile Company(KICOTEC) in 2021.
NGILU
