A war of words has erupted between Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi and Central Imenti Member of Parliament Gitobu Imanyara over a donor-funded road in the Meru tea belt.

Mr Imanyara wants work on the project, which is funded by the German government stopped, claiming Mr Murungi had diverted the 86-km road to serve his constituency alone.

Secretly

Mr Imanyara accuses Mr Murungi of secretly changing the project plan so that it covered only roads in his South Imenti constituency.

In a letter to Prime Minister Raila Odinga dated August 13, Mr Imanyara alleged that Mr Murungi had colluded with three senior Roads ministry officials to divert the road to bypass North Imenti, Central Imenti and Nithi constituencies.

"I was, in the circumstances, not only alarmed but shocked to see advertisements... that the project has been secretly or clandestinely changed to be fully localised in one constituency of South Imenti for the entire 86 kilometres!" reads part of the letter.

Mr Murungi, however, said that all the nine MPs from Meru met President Kibaki on August 18 where they discussed the road project, but that Mr Imanyara did not raise his concerns.

Mr Murungi also wrote to Mr Odinga accusing Mr Imanyara of trying to impress his constituents.

The minister said in his letter that roads were being built in Meru-Marimba in North Imenti, Central Imenti and South Imenti constituencies, Marimba-Chogoria in South Imenti and Nithi.