Hao wenye wanakosa choo wameshiba - Murkomen answers Uhuru on revenue formula

Elgeyo Marakwet Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday made a quick response to President Uhuru Kenyatta who expressed his opinion on the Counties Revenue Sharing formula that is before the Senate.

Murkomen used Kenyatta's example of poor residents in Nairobi who are forced to use flying toilets but are disadvantaged because Nairobi is catergorized as a rich county.

The President's sentiments suggested he was in favor a formula that favors population as the primary consideration - popularly referred as the one man one shilling formula.

"When we talk about the Senate, it is not my formula. It came from the CRA and they recommended every person to get a fair share. Why is it that Nairobi residents are being told that they are rich yet they live in the slums and some of them use flying toilets? Truth and justice will come out," Kenyatta said while speaking in Nairobi.

However, Murkomen differed with the President, saying that Nairobi residents struggle for wash rooms showed that they were at least full saying there are counties where citizens die of hunger.

"Heri wanaotafuta choo Kwa maana wao wameshiba. Kuna wale wanakufa njaa ata haja ya choo hawana kwa maana hawajakula ama kunywa chochote (It is better those who are looking for a toilet because it means they are full. There are those who are dying of hunger and a toilet is the least of their problem because they have not eaten anything)," Murkomen said.

The comment drew protest from the Senator's colleague in Team Tanga Tanga - Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

"Surely the Preident has his views on this and you should be more civil with him than this Senator. UNACCEPTABLE!," Kuria said protest.

The former Senate Majority Leader is part of Team Kenya - a Senate faction that favors the old formula where geographical area, poverty, and marginalization counted for the biggest allocation.

Another faction referring itself as Team Katiba believes in the one man one shilling where population would play the biggest consideration while factors such as poverty and land mass would be secondary.

Team Katiba main argument has argued that it is unfair that a poor Kenyan in a populous county such as Nairobi and Kiambu gets Sh3,000 per capita allocation while another Kenyan in counties such as Turkana would get a capita allocation of Sh25,000.