A
plot by ODM and Jubilee allied MCAs at the Nairobi City County to impeach
Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke is in the pipeline.
According
sources well-versed with the scheme and political intrigues to topple Mueke,
allegations are that he has been involved in shoddy deals and has also failed
in his duties as deputy of Governor Evans Kidero. They also want to delve into
and probe his private accounts which they say now run into millions for the
short stint he has been at City Hall.
Before
landing his current position, his financial position was nothing to talk about
according to those who knew him then. He now boasts of having money to fund
even a presidential election. While at Wiper party which sponsored him, Mueke
was low keyed and contested the Westlands parliamentary seat in the 2007
general elections.
The
MCAs further allege that after his election, Mueke has set up a cartel that is
busy collecting money from would- be suppliers. The man he uses to collect
kickbacks from suppliers and contractors is his personal assistant, one Samuel
Kiala, it is alleged. The scam targets employees in the procurement and some
unscrupulous businessmen. It is alleged he runs companies through proxies which
he has been seconding to get lucrative tenders at City Hall.
They
say that Mueke has been sidelining MCAs in his activities and instead has
opened up a private office in town where he runs his activities instead of
operating from City Hall. It is from this office that suppliers and contractors
are allegedly forced to part with hefty kickbacks before their payments can be
processed.
Those
pushing for his ouster further say that he has been involved in multi-million
financial scams involving fraud and some contractors have also complained of
being intimidated and harassed by the same cartel and forced to part with huge
sums of money so as to either get tenders or have their cheques processed.
The
MCAs are said to have reached to almost half the number to support their plan.
The plot to impeach him comes barely a week after a report revealed that
contractors at Nairobi City Hall are demanding for payments of over Sh300
million withheld by the county secretary Lillian Ndegwa. Sources say Ndegwa has
withheld the payments for verification. It is believed that a cartel of
contractors have been asking for fictitious payments for goods not delivered.
It
is not known if some of the contractors whose cheques have been retracted from
the bank are associated with the Mueke cartel. The report reveals that some of
the contractors whose cheques have been withheld were in garbage collection.
How
Mueke, accused of fighting his own Kamba tribesmen holding senior positions at
City Hall will handle the impeachment headache is eagerly awaited in the
corridors of City Hall. A senior Kamba City Hall officer was overhead at a
Machakos town pub lamenting that he is being fought by Mueke using a fellow
Kamba Timothy King’ondu who is the health executive.
Mueke
has also reportedly been using a section in the county assembly to lay grounds
to run for governorship in 2017. It is said that his plan to run for the post
in the next elections has not been received well by senator Mike Mbuvi, a
fellow Kamba.
Sonko
is understood to be eyeing the governor’s slot on a TNA ticket although a
section in Nairobi politicians from Mount Kenya region are out to block him on
the basis that he used the Kikuyu vote to win while his own tribesmen voted for
opposition in 2013. It is on these grounds, they argue, Sonko got more votes
than President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi county.
Elsewhere,
there was drama last week at the Milimani residence of Kisumu deputy governor
Ruth Odinga when the househelp run berserk hitting the children under her care.
One of the children was rushed to AAR Services as police were called to restore
order. She is said to have hit one of the children with a panga. Eye witnesses
say it could be a case of mental disorder.
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