Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga has officially resigned as Vice Chairperson of the Council of Governors.

Addressing the press on Wednesday morning, after receiving widespread condemnation following his recent remarks which appeared to be mocking the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Kahiga stated that he was stepping down as vice chair of COG.

He also extended his heartfelt apologies to the Odinga family, ODM Party and his colleagues in the Council of Governors, maintaining that the utterances were personal and “not those of the people of Nyeri and the Council of Governors.”

“I want to apologize to the family, the larger ODM, my colleagues and those in the larger Nyanza region,” adding, “my remarks are personal, and not those of the people of Nyeri and the Council of Governors.”

“I am taking responsibility and resigning with immediate effect as the vice chair of the Council of Governors,” stated Kahiga, who was elected vice chair of COG on October 6, 2025.

In a video that has went viral online, Kahiga is heard telling mourners at a funeral in Nyeri that Raila’s death was a reprieve to the Mt. Kenya region, which according to him, has been neglected in terms of development projects.

He added that the Kenya Kwanza government has been pumping more projects to the Nyanza region since the onset of the broad-based agreement between ODM and UDA.

“You guys can see, you can see what had been planned, but God brought something up. Now it’s total confusion. Everybody can see that. We did not harbor hate for anyone, but God came through for us,” said the Governor.

“Because the plan that had been hatched, if you look keenly, for you who do not travel because I was in that region, all goodies were being directed there because of tomorrow’s plans, because it seemed like they did away with us, but God came and brought this thing,” he added.

However, his comments sparked nationwide condemnation with leaders calling for stern actions against him.