Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has affirmed that the Limuru III meeting is not dependent on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s attendance.

He was speaking Thursday morning on TV47’s breakfast show Morning Cafe which airs every weekday from 6am to 10am.

“I am not in UDA, but I expect those in UDA from our region to discuss our issues. So that now when they don’t we need to discuss them elsewhere. It does not mean because you are the deputy president we cannot discuss and that everywhere we sit you must be there.

“Even we had Uhuru as president, they sat together with William and decided they need to drift from Uhuru’s advice and everything and perhaps now he can see the outcome of it,” Kioni explained.

He argued that lack of DP Gachagua’s voice within the current government has led to suffering among the people of Mt Kenya, hence the need for Limuru III meeting.

On his part, Embakasi North Member of Parliament (MP) James Gakuya, who is a member of UDA, welcomed CS Moses Kuria’s decision to attend the Friday, May 17 meeting.

“Moses Kuria says he will be attending which is very okay. He is a cabinet minister and he represents the image of government. When he is there it is very important for him to respond to some of the questions that may float on the floor because he sits in the cabinet,” MP Gakuya added.

He however defended government, saying matters cost of living are not new to this administration, despite pressure from opposition to lower cost of living.

“You know cost of living has not started beating us now, and we should not only say it is ‘unga’. When you have KSh500 and you cannot afford a packet of maize flour and half kilo of meat then you know cost of living is high,” the lawmaker explained.

According to him, the Limuru III meeting may be a good starting point to addressing grievances raised by the people of Mt Kenya.