President Uhuru Kenyatta did not go to Meru to open the devolution conference as was expected. His speech at the opening ceremony on Wednesday was delivered by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of devolution, Mwangi Kiunjuri.
The President's decision to give this year's event a miss has left analysts speculating. Some believe the President was advised against attending an event that has been characterised by a tug of war between the governors and senators. His attendance would probably have been misconstrued as taking sides.
There has also been talk of an increasingly strained relationship between the National government and County governments over revenue allocation. The Council of governors led by Meru governor, Peter Munya, has constantly been accusing President Uhuru's government of failing to increase the amount of funds allocated to county governments in line with the the devolved functions.
The county governments also want the National government to devolve more functions such as major roads constructions and maintenance.
Neither the Devolution CS nor the Chairman of the Council of governors explained the reason why the President was not present at the Meru event.
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