Ripples in URP over new party officials

Ripples have emerged among URP supporters over the involvement of  Caleb Kipkemei Kositany as an official of Jubilee Alliance Party where he is named as deputy secretary general.
Those opposed to Kositany say he dropped from school in Form Two and to date has not gone back to pick his personal effects at Kipsagui High School in Uasin Gishu. It is not known why he deserted school but sources claim  when he joined Form One, for three terms he emerged last in the class.
Kositany is a kid brother of the late Stephen   Kositany a son-in-law of former president Daniel arap Moi who perished in a road accident. He had married Jenniffer Moi.
The new party official is said to be at loggerheads with his family after he took a loan running into millions using their land as security. He is also said not to have a stable family. His wife used to work for     Unileaver. Known to hire state-of-art vehicles to hoodwink members of public, in 2013, he stood and lost in Soy parliamentary seat and is  a man with loose zips when drunk and women are around, it is claimed. When Moi was in power, he perfected the art of propaganda. For now, he wants to use his party position to get direct nomination. The Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting last week began on a high note during the tension-packed meeting called to deliberate on a number of issues, including the merger of URP and TNA to form the Jubilee Alliance Party.
Although the merger seems to enjoy the backing of Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, majority of MPs and senators especially those from the TNA wing are not comfortable with the merger deal.
Those from TNA claim the move is aimed at solidifying the Kikuyu votes for Ruto in 2022 when he is expected to vie for the presidency. What has now come out clearly is that majority of TNA politicians are not keen in supporting Ruto’s presidential bid in 2022. However, their URP counterparts are fully behind the merger knowing it is to the advantage of their leader.
Sources say the president and his deputy ordered the creation and registration of the party and tasked a secret group of trusted operatives to go shopping for a fully registered political entity.
According to the resolutions made in Naivasha where Jubilee retreated to last weekend, TNA and URP will  be dissolved by 2017.  This is to further consolidate the Kikuyu and Kalenjin voting blocs under Jap to prepare the country for Ruto to succeed Uhuru in 2022.
Uhuru’s pointman in the party is former Gatanga MP who is the vice-chair of the new party David Murathe. Last week, he told off those claiming there were no consultations that members of the ruling coalition did not need to know about plans to merge the constituent parties until the time was right.
Among the sources, Uhuru started the plan and first contacted Kigumo MP Jamlek Kamau to State House and briefed him on the new idea. Kamau was then dispatched to Ruto for further briefing where he and Kericho senator Charles Keter were tasked to work out the finer details.
National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale is also said to have played a big role and is the one representing Ruto in the merger deal. However, Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi described the move as dangerous.
The new officials of the party include Nelson Dzuya (chairman) who unsuccessfully contested the Rabai parliamentary seat in 2013, receiving just 86 votes on a URP ticket.
Veronica Maina, a city lawyer, is secretary-general, while Alfred Kipkorir, a Kericho-based businessman is the treasurer with David Murathe as the vice-chairman.
Other officials include Pamela Mutua (organising secretary), Fatuma Mahamud (deputy treasurer) and Nixon Korir (executive director). Kipkorir the treasurer background is also questionable with claims he is not outgoing but reserved. He is also said not to be able to control his sexual lust.
Among those opposed to the merger is Bomet governor Isaac Ruto who last week said that Uhuru and Ruto should resign first and seek a fresh mandate according to the Political Parties Act before pushing for the dissolution of Jubilee constituent parties into the new outfit.

KK reps told to stop thinking with stomach

                           
Civil society groups in Kakamega have lashed out at the county assembly over alleged lethargy in discharge of its functions.
They accused members of the county assembly of misusing money channeled to their wards for development and bursaries.
They said the county assembly had also abdicated its responsibility of providing oversight on the county government.
In a statement issued to the press in Kakamega town last week, officials of the groups led by Charles Okwemba raised concerns over Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s grip on the 87-member assembly.
“We are deeply concerned and saddened at the performance of our county assembly which has turned into some form of a public relations company for the county government. They never come out to criticise the performance of the county government even when it is crystal clear that they are failing in several aspects,” they said.
The groups said that unlike in other counties where the assemblies are independent and always putting the county governments on their toes, the situation was  the reverse in Kakamega.
They said the few MCAs who have come out to speak against the county government have been branded traitors and frustrated by their colleagues.
“We are challenging the speaker to come out and elucidate to the people of Kakamega what they have achieved so far as an assembly. Let them show us the people-friendly legislations and motions that they have passed and discussed. We just hear that some censure motions have been tabled in the assembly against corrupt and underperforming members of the county executive committee but we do not know where they fizzle out to,” said Okwemba.
He said MCAs were using the funds they receive for their wards without involving members of the public. The officials pointed out that in many instances, the MCAs disregarded advice from their ward residents and “spent the cash as if it is their salary”.
Each of the elected MCAs receives Sh10 million for development of their wards. In addition, they received Sh1 million for bursaries in the last financial year. This has however been increased to Sh2 million this year. They also get Sh60,000 for their office staff. However, some of the ward reps do not even have any offices or staff.
“We call for the formation of ward accountability forums through which the residents can voice their concerns and suggestions. These forums are not meant to undermine or antagonise anybody, but to ensure the MCAs work in tande with the electorate,” they said.
 

Jap birth throws Trans Nzoia into tumult

Endebess MP Robert Pukose is a man under siege.  Of late, the URP MP has allegedly appointed himself the spokesperson of the party and the TNA partner under the Jubilee umbrella, drawing ire from the political divide in Trans Nzoia.
Pukose’s stature went a notch higher when URP carried the day during the by-election in Matumbei ward in the constituency.
Just before the by- election won by area ex-councillor Phillip Sakong, the Endebess surgeon MP had hinted that URP and TNA were considering backing one candidate in all seats in the county in the 2017 polls.
The legislator, who is among the parliamentary team on the health committee that met Deputy President William Ruto in Hague during the hearing of his case at ICC, had also dismissed New Ford Kenya NFK as a “stranger and guest” partner at the Jubilee coalition.
Pukose’s scheme includes the fielding of Mike Mbito as the Jap candidate for the governor’s seat alongside Kakai Bisau allied to FK, Eugene Wamalwa himself  and Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa.
Mbito was Kakai’s running mate for the 2013 polls where the duo emerged second to Governor Patrick Khaemba. Lately, Mbito has become a close associate of top government officials.
Pukose’s remarks have since irked NFK politicians with the latest Saboti MP Lazaro Wafula cautioning that his Endebess counterpart was “treading on dangerous grounds”.
Lazaro asked Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto to partner to “tame” Pukose lest he “made Trans Nzoia an undemocratic county”.
The parliamentary employee turned legislator observed that Pukose was bound to fail the newly formed Jubilee Alliance of Party in Trans Nzoia if he insisted on Jap “one –candidate’’ in each elective post in the county.
“As a cosmopolitan county, Trans Nzoia can hardly accept coalitions of tribal groupings.  But we are begging to remain the Jubilee alliance. We have several options if we are pushed to the wall. Infact, we are currently reconsidering our stand in Jubilee.  We cannot accept to be belittled by a fellow MP.  We have several kilometres to walk before we can conclude our journey,” he said.
To back Lazaro was the Trans Nzoia women representative Janet Nangabo who said as a condition, Jubilee partners ought to embrace and accommodate co-operation and avoid antagonistic tendencies.
Nangabo also of NFK noted that as much as they supported the government of the day, NFK should not be regarded as “second-class and should be treated as equal”.
Also on the offensive was the Cherangany MP Wisley Korir who is said to have criticised Pukose’s stand of Jap going solo in Trans Nzoia.
Korir who stood as an independent candidate in the last general elections is reported to have dismissed Pukose’s plan as unworkable.
Also said to have intimated  Pukose’s new strategy as difficult was Uasin Gishu governor Julius Mandago who reportedly said that the style of the Endebess MP was not durable in a cosmopolitan county like Trans Nzoia.
If  Pokose’s plan was to be applied, some feel, there is going to emerge splits in Jap especially in Kwanza, Cherangany and Endebess constituencies.
For instance, they point out, Korir who seems to be angling towards URP may find it difficult joining hands with his rival Joshua Kuttuny for Cherangany seat.  There is no hiding that Kuttuny, one of  Uhuru’s advisers is the TNA choice and would want to prove his might against Korir in URP.
For Kwanza constituency, DP Ruto’s legal adviser Abraham Sing’oei will be torn between URP and TNA should Pukose’s idea of “one candidate” policy come to fruition.
Already, he has drawn the ire of the Trans Nzoia URP county boss  Nathan Psiwa who accuses him of having usurped his powers.
But Lazaro says NFK is not concerned with the Jap insignias and is determined to go ahead influencing its supremacy on Trans Nzoia voters ahead of 2017.
The Saboti legislator noted that NFK’s defeat at Matumbei was a wake-up call to the party but can not be taken as a measure to the 2017 performance.
He welcomed the disbandment of the Mabaga 2011 peace accord that saw Bukusus, Tesos and Sabaots share seats in Trans Nzoia and Bungoma counties in 2013 adding that NFK will join hands with other smaller affiliates of Jubilee to decide their next political destiny.

Western state boss warns Oparanya on town replanning attempt

Western regional co-coordinator Joseph ole Serian has warned the Kakamega county government to immediately stop attempts to re-plan Mumias town for fear of violence.
In a letter dated February 18 2014 and addressed to Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, the RC dismisses as suspicious activities by the land executive Suleiman Sumba on the disputed parcels or land in Mumias triangle. “There has been a longstanding land dispute in Mumias town where different attempts were made to resolve them by former leaders in the provincial administration and politicians to no avail,” reads the letter.
 “Several Muslim leaders came to my office to lodge a complaint against your lands executive  Suleiman Sumba saying he has been sending surveyors to the disputed plots to replan and this is not in their interest but the interest of  your minister,” says the letter.
The letter copied to Mumias sub county administrators and the DC claim elders had visited him with claims that Sumba is one of the interested parties involved in a pending case in court related to the dispute and that they showed him maps, allotment letters and correspondences regarding the disputed land.
The administrator further asks Governor Oparanya to involve the local leaders and plot owners and the central government in attempts to deal with the land issue and warns of “real danger of violence occurring sooner or later unless Sumba stops the suspicious survey he is currently undertaking”.
The National Lands Commission has also rapped the county government. In a letter to the governor, Mohammed Swazuri the chairman ordered stoppage in replanning of the town.
The letter claims foul play in the exercise by Sumba adding that a delegation of elders had gone to his office to air their concerns against the activities of the county minister on the plots.
The NLC boss says the activities were “foul and aimed at planting disharmony and disunity amongst the otherwise peaceful residents and occupants of the plots”.
The letter copied to the director of physical planning and the lands office in Kakamega states that NLC must be involved in all oversight activities on land in the country.
A county letter dated October 30 2013 to all sub county administrators in Mumias orders  occupants of the land to “put on hold any kind of development and construction within the triangle area until re-planning is concluded”.
The letter states “surveyors and physical planners are to visit the site and map out the area and carry out re-planning”.
Sumba was rewarded with the post on Oparanya’s cabinet after he stepped down for Oparanya in the last gubernatorial seat. Sumba was recently heckled by land owners and could not address a meeting convened by the governor over the dispute.

Tension palpable at Waitiki Farm after Ngilu buy-or-quit order

Barely a week after Lands cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu issued a directive that those who have been occupying the Waitiki land as squatters to immediately pay the owner of the land or face eviction, Likoni MP Masoud Mwahima has told the squatters to ignore the directive and stay put.
Now, tension is high in the area with the residents fearing their houses could be demolished. Mwahima who for years demanded that the squatters be allowed to own the land has warned them against making any payments and has demanded to know Waitiki Kamau came to own the 930-acre farm.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho had at one point said he would solicit for funds for the resettlement of the Waitiki squatters as well as those at Kibarani and Dunga Unuse villages but this is yet to happen. It is alleged Joho has been using the Waitiki farm to gain political mileage during electioneering period.
It has now emerged that Ngilu’s directive is a contradiction of her earlier statement and promise by President Uhuru Kenyatta that the government would compensate the owner and subdivide the land to the squatters.
Last year, a Mombasa Court issued order directing then Interior cabinet secretary Joseph Ole Lenku to evict the 120,000 squatters from the farm. The directive caught the National Land Commission and Mombasa county government officials by surprise. At one time, Ngilu met the squatters in Likoni and told them to stay put as government was sorting out the matter with Waitiki. In the run-up to the general election, Uhuru pledged to formally resettle the squatters on the Waitiki land once elected but this is also yet to happen.
“We are not going to pay Waitiki even a penny. We want to hear what the president is saying about this land because he is the one who promised us that he will settle us here and stop the owner and police from evicting us,” he said.
According to those who have been following up the saga, he allegedly bought the farm when he was aged 30 years. Waitiki who has been under pressure to explain how he acquired the farm has now broken the silence and revealed how the deal was cut.
“I bought the farm from Gulb Wood Company, which was owned by a renowned farmer in East Africa,” he said and also revealed that when he bought the land, the farm had 900 heads of cattle, 300,000 chickens, and seven vehicles.
To buy the land, he says, he got a loan of Sh1.2 million from the Agricultural Corporation Finance. He topped up the amount by selling his other pieces of land in Karen and Lavington to buy the land and all that was therein, including the cattle, chicken, farmhouses and vehicles. The farm which he bought in 1975 at Sh2m is now valued at Sh9.3b.
It is said after buying the land Waitiki resigned from his job and went into full-scale farming where he made more than Sh1m every month and comfortably repaid his AFC loan. The produce from the farm included fresh milk, beef, chicken and fruits. According to Waitiki, the farm’s products were popular in South Africa, Europe and even Saudi Arabia where he exported live animals.
The big question that remains unanswered is how the squatters found their way into his farm. According to Waitiki, in 1998, the infamous Likoni clashes broke out and he was evicted from his farm as the raiders slaughtered more than 1,000 heads of cattle and 800,000 chickens in the farm.
After the clashes ended and peace was restored, Waitiki was unable to reclaim his land for it had been taken over by squatters. Since then, he has been trying to reclaim the land. In 2001, he got eviction orders after a protracted legal battle between him and the state but  police did not honour the order.
The residents say he grabbed the land using his relationship with then President Jomo Kenyatta. Others claim that the land was a gift from Kenyatta. He has however denied the allegations that he is related to the Kenyatta family and insists he acquired land through his own effort.
On the orders Ngilu gave on paying Waitiki or facing eviction, Waitiki claims that he is ready to subdivide the land and sell to the squatters and keep a small portion where he plans to do large scale poultry farming. “Yes, I am ready to sub-divide the land and sell it to willing buyers but this does not mean I should be forced to sell it,” says Waitiki.
The squatters have built homes, churches, mosques, and businesses there. Several police stations have also been put up there. The eviction could have affected at least half the properties in the expansive Likoni area.
He further says that he is happy to have purchased the land when he did and says it is the turn of all the people in his farm to feel the pain he felt when he too was evicted. “No one can claim the farm belongs to them because they do not have documents. I have all the papers of ownership,” he says.

Big drama in Uriri as officer claim bhang

It was drama when the driver of vehicle transporting bhang with a street value of worth Sh3 made a sharp U-turn upon reaching a roadblock set up by the Administration Police officers near Uriri centre.
The APs gave chase for close to 10 kilometres on the Migori- Kisii highway. But when they finally caught up with the vehicle, they discovered a police officer in uniform and armed with a service revolver sitting inside the car among four civilian passengers who readily admitted that they were the owners of the bhang.
PC Kennedy Shikuku and his four accomplices who were travelling in a Toyota Probox car registration number KBU 953 had been hired by the traders to give them security  escort  up to Kericho and thereafter they were to travel on their own to Mombasa  via Nairobi.
The five were arrested and taken to Migori Police Station where the police constable was disarmed and had his uniforms removed. They are expected to appear in court anytime now.
Inside the car, there were 420 big rolls of bhang and other unrolled packed in gunny bags. There has been numerous incidents where small cars and other vehicles are used in transporting bhang to the big cities of Nairobi and Mombasa which have always been discovered at police road blocks set up in Molo, Nakuru and Naivasha enroute to the capital after driving and evading police dragnet all far away as from Migori, Sirare and Sori in the former Nyanza province undetected after snaking through police roadblocks in Awendo, Rongo, Kisii and Kericho towns.
It has now been established beyond any reasonable doubt that these vehicles have always had secret police escorts all the way from Migori and other border towns after Kericho. Bhang which is grown in abundance in isolated villages and river banks in Migori also finds its way into the country from neighbouring Tanzania where it is grown in the North Mara region. The drug also comes from Uganda through Lake Victoria and quite often land at Sori in Karungu-Bay and Muhuru-Bay in Nyatike sub-county of Migori county.
Scientifically known as cannabis sativa, bhang is also grown by unscrupulous farmers along the banks of major rivers like Kuja and Migori in plenty and on the hilltops of Ungoe in Suba constituency and on Gembe hills in Mbita. The drug from Uganda also finds its way into Kenya via  Busia and Malaba border posts apart from Lake Victoria  as well as panya routes”.
The porous Kenya-Tanzania border lines which stretches from Lake Victoria to the Indian Ocean at the coast makes it difficult for the Kenya police to have its movement under tight control.
Uriri sub-county administrative headquarters in Migori county is next to the Migori-Awendo-Kisii highway, and the tough subcounty commissioner George Kibet Lagat has recently declared war against smugglers and racketeers of the contraband using the area for illicit trade. This has seen the APs maintain a 24-hour road blocks in check of movement of vehicles at night and boda boda motorbikes taxis commonly used by the racketeers.

Overspending in Nakuru county budget

Nakuru county overspent on its recurrent expenditure during the first quarter of the current financial year.
According to impeccable sources, the county used 103.6pc of the funds released for the recurrent activities.
Due to the weak budget controls and planning by the county, development expenditure was reduced to 73.9pc of the funds meant for development projects.
The county’s recurrent expenditure for the first quarter of the FY 2014/15 represented an absorption rate of 23.6pc of the annual budget which was an increase from an absorption rate of 4.03pc realised in the first quarter of FY2013/2014.
The county spent Sh948.21 million on personnel emolument which is equivalent to 59.3pc of the total recurrent expenditure and Sh651.78 million on operations and maintenance expenditures which was 40.7pc of the total expenditure for the period.
Expenditure on domestic and foreign travel amounted to Sh56.55 million in the financial year 2014/15 first quarter compared to Sh22.85 million in the same period in the last financial year.
The county budget records breakdown shows that it spent Sh279.5 million on general operations and maintenance.
Drugs and vaccine took Sh77 million while bursary and other education scholarships took Sh55 million as committee meetings expenditure consumed Sh42 million in the same financial period.
Other county expenditures during the first quarter of the year were legal fees Sh41 million, printing and stationary Sh30 million, publications and other periodicals Sh21 million while county buildings maintenance took Sh19 million.
The discrepancies on the county budget during the first quarter of the FY 2014/15 basing on the laid down regulations has been attributed to some failures by the county.
The county budget letdown is said to have been as a result of the county’s overlooking of proper development projects monitoring and evaluation framework, failure to enforce revenue targets and lack of establishment of an internal audit committee.
Due to the above county failures, our source further divulged that since the county inception and during this financial year’s first quarter, there has been inadequate reporting on the status on the ongoing projects.
Following the same setbacks, the county is also being blamed of inadequate enforcements on its revenue collection as stipulated by the existing legislations.
Nakuru county is yet to put the monitoring and evaluation framework despite that it is a requirement of the Public Finance Management Act 2012.
Over Sh11 billion was earmarked for the Nakuru county budget for this financial year 2014/15. The total budget is expected to be financed by Sh7.08 billion from the national equitable share, Sh3.22 billion from local revenue sources and Sh906.25 million projected balance brought forward from the last financial year.
Other sources for the Nakuru county FY 2014/15 budget includes Sh317.84 million which is a conditional grant for level five hospitals and Sh22.88 million grant from Danida meant for health support.

Raila tasks Awiti to deliver Homa-Bay by-election seat

It appears that Cord leader Raila Odinga is worried by the current goings on in Homa-Bay senator seat by-election.
Word has it that to win the seat, Raila has entrusted Governor Cyprian Awiti and local MPs led by John Mbandi to deliver the seat. To this effect, Awiti has been busy meeting the influential teachers’ vote, pastors, women groups, traders and boda boda operators to win their support.
Insiders say that Awiti’s scheming has sent shockwaves in the county and talk is that he is using public funds has emerged. However, those said to be behind the rumours are a worried lot fearing defeat, so it is said. As things stand, ODM eyes are on Awiti to deliver the seat and has taken the task with enthusiasm. Awiti’s argument is that he cannot betray the power sharing formula worked on prior to 2013 general elections in which clannism was a key factor. His decision to back the ODM face was a big catch and has tilted the political equation ahead the by-election date.
This is coming even after  Raila ODM   party’s  controversial nomination  system  has seen it incur  heavy  losses in the  recent  series  of  by-elections  in Gusii region.
That Raila and his allies are worried is due to fear that history is bound to happen again. During 2013 polls, in his home turf of Luo Nyanza, ODM lost three parliamentary seats. It also failed to grab one governor slot in March 2013 elections. ODM furthermore suffered   parliamentary defeats in two  Kuria  parliamentary  constituencies  in Migori  county.
The two seats in Kuria – Kuria East and West were easily taken up by URP  candidates and were now  safely secured by the Jubilee  coalition in the August  House.
The four parliamentary seats ODM lost in Gusii  region in a series of by-elections that  followed complaints and  petitions lodged by 2013   election losers include  Nyaribari Chache, Bobasi,  Bonchari and Bomachoge  Chache.
In  Luo  Nyanza,  the  candidates    who were  denied ODM   nominations   certificates  irregularly  after they  had  won their  primary  nominations and  were  later  able  to  clinch  nomination certificate  of  other  parties  were  seats in Awendo, Alego-Usonga,  Muhoroni and Kisumu West constituencies. In Muhoroni, Ayiecho Olweny who of late has been isolated by varsity dons he abused while education assistant minister was defeated by James Onyango K’oyoo. All these  constituencies  were  hitherto considered  to be in the  ODM  strongholds in Raila’s  home  turf  of  Luo  Nyanza, but  were lost  due  to  the  much  flawed  nomination exercises.
Taking into account of what is now happening in the ongoing campaigns for the vacant Senate seat in Homa-Bay county, it looks as if Raila has yet  learnt a good lesson from his ODM dismissal performances and big losses in recent by elections. Agwambo visited Homa-Bay to drum up support for the seemingly unpopular Moses Kajwang’   in the on going senatorial by-elections campaigns.
Kajwang presented his  papers to the IEBC with Raila  on his side to show solidarity with his party torchbearer in the Senate race  and  thereafter  addressed supporters  at Rose Muhando Stadium in town. In attendance  were mainly  people  transported  by  buses  from  far  places like  Oyugis, Rongo, Awendo  and  Migori.
For Raila to restore the confidence of South Nyanza in general and Homa Bay voters in particular, he will have to get rid of some of his close advisers, who include Mbadi, Suna MP Mohammed Junet and Gladys Wanga the women rep. The four are said to be the reason behind the so-called dissident MPs who are opposed to Moses Kajwang’s direct nomination. It is whispered the four appears as if they were the ones who are more loyal to the ODM supremo than the other legislators from the region.
Raila defiantly ignored  the spirited ODM  leaders not comfortable with his favourite candidate and snubbed his  meeting. They are known to have vocally and vehemently  resisted his choice .
The rebellious MPs, included  George  Omer, (Rangwe) James  Rege (Karachuonyo),    Silvance  Osele (Kabondo  Kasipul), Augustino  Neto (Ndhiwa) and  Milie  Odhiambo  (Mbita), all who skipped the rally.
In attendance at the  nomination venue at  gospel musician Rose Muhando  stadium were John Mbadi  (Suba), Peter Kaluma (Homa-Bay Town), Joseph Oyugi Magwanga (Kasipul) and  Gladys Wanga women rep. Also in Raila’s bandwagon was governor Awiti.
At the rally, Raila put up  a spirited defence  saying  it  was the ODM elections  board  which had  picked  Moses Kajwang and not  himself.
He took a swipe at MPs  who are opposed to his  choice  reportedly  referring   crocodiles shedding tears.
Apart from Kajwang, others in the race are Philip Okundi on Maendeleo Party, Medo Misama, Hillary Alila, Innocent Misara and Fred Rabongo. Hillary Alila came second to the late Kajwang and together with Okundi are said to be giving ODM schemers sleepless nights.

Jailed Uhuru pal pleads for intervention

Double tragedy has hit the family of jailed  and ailing Kitale based journalist John Abel Oroni with the expiry of a deadline to operate the scribe’s  elder son Sammy  Oroni currently suffering from acute bout of  tuberculosis.
Moi Referral and Training Hospital doctors led  by Prof Stephen Ondigo had arranged to have the operation done early September last year but postponed the event on the request  of the parents and management of St Anthony Boys’ High School to allow the  teenager time to sit for the 2014 KCSE of which he was a candidate. Sammy had skipped the same exam in 2013 after hospitalisation and teachers thought that interference would dampen the morale of one of the best performing students in the school. But as fate would have it, when the boy finished the exams in readiness for the operation that was to   cost Sh500,000, his father, the only breadwinner  was committed to a six-month civil jail for allegedly defaming the Trans Nzoia forest officer Simon Wahome and failing to  pay a whopping Sh3.5 million fine imposed by the Kitale principal magistrate JA Owiti. 
The scribe had been accused of allegedly defaming the civil servant Wahome by stating that he had settled Ugandan nationals in a Trans Nzoia forest, allegations the local leadership has been claiming to date. Worse, the father had prior to being jailed also developed a complication of the heart and had been referred to Kenyatta National Hospital before he was incarcerated to the gallows.
A medical report from the Cherangany Nursing Hospital, from where he was being attended, says that the journalist may die if urgent specialised treatment is not forthcoming. However, the prison management is yet to release him insisting that they have a resident clinical officer for the purpose.
“The above named John Oroni has been attending our facility being managed for congestive cardiac failure and on follow-up. We have since referred him to a specialised treatment. Due to his condition, he is not fit to be in the cell. We recommend if it could be possible for him to attend his charges outside the cell to allow him follow up due to his condition,” the hospital pleads in a letter dated December 3 2014. Now, Oroni family is appealing to Uhuru Kenyatta to come to their rescue.
“The doctor who had booked Sammy for operation has been calling since Christmas to say that his condition can not be extended any further as the inflammation growth may interfere with crucial body organs like the lungs and the kidney. Now, we do not know whether to attend to the father or the son,” said the wife Alice. She says that Oroni was jailed just as he was organising to attend the clinic at Kenyatta Hospital. “Any time we visit him in prison, we find a pale imitation of the man we once knew. We’re making a frantic appeal to those in a position to help to do so urgently,” she says, adding that the president had been his close friend.
The mother of five says that since his incarceration, the family had made five major applications to   have him released without any progress. The case proceeded for hearing ex-parte after interlocutory judgment had been entered against the  defendants, Oroni included for nonentry of appearance after service of summonses to enter appearance. Lawyer David Ingosi was instructed when the matter was at the execution stage. “We made an application to set aside the exparte proceedings and judgment but the said application was dismissed with costs on   September 28 2014. Oroni was thereafter arrested in execution of the decree,” he said. “The case filed in court on September 22 2011, was heard exparte in September 2013 and judgment delivered in October 2013 for Sh3million against the defendants jointly and severally together with the costs of the suit.
Oroni has since appealed before Justice Joseph Karanja and mention is slated for February 18 2015.
But the wife feels that her husband may die in prison if something urgent is not done. “Once outside, he will make every effort to ensure the son’s operation is also undertaken,” she says. Wahome has dismissed any attempts to settle the matter outside court insisting that he has already paid Sh10,800 for the food of the jailed. Oroni on his part insists that he was not served and that is why he did not file a defence. He wants the High Court to order that the case be heard afresh insisting that he has evidence against the civil servant of what he published.

Jubilee changes tactics in Gusii politics

Gusii politics is set for a major shake-up following the completion of a Jubilee friendly election line-up with a well crafted plot to plant cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i as Nyamira governor to replace ODM’s John Nyagarama.
In what appears to be a well orchestrated plot that to a large extent favours Uhuru Kenyatta’s party, The National Alliance against Deputy President William Ruto’s URP, Matiang’i an immigrant into Nyamira county from South Mugirango in Kisii county has been picked by Jubilee strategists to vie for the seat on a TNA ticket on the advice of former cabinet minister and Ford People leader Simeon Nyachae who happens to be his uncle.
Apart from Mzee Nyachae being his uncle, Matiang’i is a well known longserving top personal aide of the former minister and for many years, acted as his private secretary and political researcher. It is common knowledge that it is Mzee Nyachae who lobbied for Matiang’i.
Matiang’i’s expected entry into Nyamira county politics is aimed to complete Jubilee’s covetous pursuit of the entire Gusii vote which remains over 75pc in support of the opposition Cord; mainly Raila Odinga’s ODM and Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper.
For the last two years, both the president and his deputy have been making frantic forays into the vote rich Gusiiland trying to lure back the community from the strong grip of ODM. Much of their efforts have concentrated mainly in Kisii county where Mzee Nyachae has rendered a helping hand with speculation that his eldest son, Charles Nyachae, the chairman of the Constitution for the Implementation Commission – was being groomed to topple area governor James Ongwae of ODM.
However, in the latest development, it appears Governor Ongwae has played his cards  well that has left many guessing his future plans as he tries to reclaim his seat in 2017. The move is to forestall or parry off the Charles Nyachae onslaught and also to avoid a possible twin attack from his restless deputy governor Joash Maangi (also in ODM) but a known URP sympathiser and a close ally of Ruto.
The latest developments come at a time TNA financiers and Central Kenya controllers have drastically overhauled their Gusiiland team leadership following the dismal performance and non delivery during the 2013 general elections.
Among the former TNA leaders in Gusiiland discarded include former cabinet minister Professor Sam Ongeri (appointed ambassador), Kitutu-East MP Jimmy Ang’wenyi and former MPs Walter Nyambati and Richard Ombui. The group has been accused of having diverted hundreds of millions of shillings in campaign funds meant to win majority elective seats in both counties in 2013.
 However, a less financially endowed ODM team led by Chris Obure (ODM chairman - Kisii county) and Timothy Bosire (ODM chairman - Nyamira county) overwhelmingly  overran them, with Nyamira county returning almost 100pc victory for ODM. In Kisii county, only Jimmy Angwenyi won a parliamentary seat for TNA in controversial results. More recently, with government support, TNA and Ford People sneaked two victories in Kisii through: Richard Tong’i (Nyaribari Chache) and Charles Onyancha (Bomachoge).
Whereas indications have been that the Jubilee side has been gaining considerable ground in Kisii county with a section of the ODM leadership cracking and wavering notably - Richard Onyonka, Manson Nyamweya, Simeon Ogari, Janet Ong’era and women rep Jane Ottara, save for Senator Chris Obure, the governing coalition has had it difficult tackling Nyamira county and hence the ejection of hitherto TNA county boss  Nyambati who has hence gone into financial exile in the United States to be assisted by relatives.
Perhaps, afraid of ODM’s overwhelming grassroots control in Nyamira and Gusiiland, the government side has staged a twin assault to take over Nyamira county, with Matiang’i being detailed to lead the TNA wing while Agriculture Finance Corporation chairman Patrick Osero has been detailed to lead the URP assault and will be gunning for the Borabu parliamentary seat currently held by Wiper Democratic Party MP advocate Ben Momanyi.
Sources have disclosed that the Jubilee plotters have identified candidates to try and wrestle all key positions in Nyamira including the senatorial seat and West Mugirango parliamentary seat. In Kitutu Masaba, the Jubilee plotters are in deep uncertainty; whereas they prefer advocate Shadrack Mose, they are also toying with the possibility of fielding businessman Victor Ogeto. The two, together with Walter Nyambati, lost heavily in the 2013 elections.
Scheming to bag Nyamira county has become a desperate effort for Jubilee and has been worsened by the crushingly low prices of tea that is the main cash crop in the Gusii which has impacted negatively to many families. As a strategy to facilitate easy entry for Matiang’i and Osero, Jubilee political schemers in government have created a maneuver in which the two have organised to summon delegations of troubled tea farmers purporting to offer solutions to the tea income crisis. The first delegations were supposed to meet sometimes back. The aim is to portray the two as sensitive to the people’s plight thus should be voted for  come 2017 elections.
However, it is apparent that the Jubilee strategists are not ready to let go of the Gusii vote votes are a key plank to a slew of other strategic vote blocks they eye to cushion themselves from the danger of crashing out of power in the next general elections.
Apparently, their local and international consultants have warned them against relying heavily on the Kalenjin-Gema vote to retain power in 2017 after cracks began emerging with large portions of Kalenjins and mainstream Meru leaders constantly complaining of mistreatment by the Jubilee government. Another key vote block that Jubilee has been told in no uncertain terms that it could be gone for good is the Muslim (especially the Somali) vote due to the anti-terrorism campaign repercussions.
An initial dream combination of Gema-Kalenjin – Luhya block for 2017 got still born after parallel forays into Luhyaland and enticements by the president and deputy president failed to yield with majority of the community members snubbing them and sticking with Cord while even those who in 2013 elections had supported the Jubilee friendly UDF party of Musalia Mudavadi openly drifted to Cord, Bonny Khalwale and George Khaniri.
With political rejection by most of the Jubilee target communities looming large including futile efforts to win over the Mijikenda of the Coast region, only the Maasai vote block appears to be within sites. This is the reason why the struggle to win over Gusiiland has been intensified and there are reports it could be scaled up as the country nears the election campaigns season.

Focus on Kajiado Central not Homa Bay, Cord told

Alego Usonga MP George Muluan Omondi  urged leaders of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy to stop concentrating their campaigns in Homa Bay but instead concentrate their efforts in Kajiado Central assuring them that the Homa Bay seat will automatic take for Cord’s aspirant.
Muluan said Cord leaders are throwing their strength struggling to recapture the seat that was left vacant by the sudden demise of the late Senator Otieno Kajwang after they had carried their nominations and gave the ticket to Moses Kajwang, the deceased’s younger.
The legislator said Cord had a strong back up in Homa Bay and should thus not waste its time in the area wasting much of its time in recapturing the seat but focus on Kajiado Central.
“Why to be scared by the by- elections in Homa Bay, yet we know very well that our coalition that is lead by Raila Odinga is dominating the region?”  the MP asked.
He urged other junior leaders in the Cord to take their campaigns to Homa Bay while the party’s top leadership should go go camp in Kajiado Central.
The Kajiado seat was left vacant after the appointment of the then Kajiado Central MP Joseph Ole Nkaissery to be the cabinet by Uhuru, pouching him from the opposition Cord of Raila Odinga and co-principals, former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka and Bungoma senator and leader of minority in the senate, Moses Wetang’ula.
The Alego Usonga legislator revealed that Kajiado Central needs aggressive campaigns because it is highly dominated by the rival Jubilee Alliance.
“Raila should be campaigning in Kajiado Central and not Homa Bay, this will enable the Cord coalition to recapture both seats,” said Muluan.
However, the MP faulted some of his counterparts of thinking that they own the former premier citing that Raila is the father of all in Cord.
Politicians whom are misusing the name of Raila for political mileage should know that other people are in need of Raila on purely different and development issues.
Muluan was speaking during the issuing of Uwezo Fund cheques in Alego Usonga constituency where he was flanked by the Siaya county MP Christine Ombaka who is the county patron of Uwezo Fund, Siaya county Uwezo chairman Bishop Arara among other dignitaries.

Man Moi cliamed had rebel force wants state pay

The government may lose up to Sh20m or more if a suit filed by a suspected mastermind of a guerilla group 22 years ago is certified by the High Court.
Alexander Wamalwa Barasa of the February Eighteen Resistance Army  made true his intention to sue the government over damages when he filed the civil suit in a Kitale High Court on December 2 2014.
The Kitale engineering technician had on January 30 2014 given notice for prosecution to the Attorney General Githu Muigai complaining among other things, the loss of hearing, unlawful detention, malicious prosecution and tortures by the then Kanu government in 1992-1994
In his civil suit No 13 of 2014 at the Kitale High Court, the father of six and married to a vegetable vendor at the Matisi slums wants an urgent hearing of the suit so that he could feel a free man “to embark on rebuilding my family”.
The state had withdrawn the charges against Barasa under Section 87A of the Criminal Penal Code Cap 75 which allows for fresh prosecution. Barasa, however, has maintained that he is ready to proceed with the case should the state decide to re-open the file to prove his innocence over the alleged involvement in the alleged activities of the Fera guerilla movement.
Barasa had delayed in filing the suit in court following the demise of his lawyer James Masai late last year.  He now prays that the suit be heard in Kitale to allow him easier access to the court proceedings.
The suit’s copy which was served to the Attorney General through the Eldoret’s Chambers on December 3 2014 while the Kenya Police Service was issued with the copy on December 9 2014
Early last year, the Attorney General’s Chambers had written to the former Immediate Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo asking him to furnish the AG with any materials that would assist the state in defence of Barasa’s intended suit.
A senior officer at the Attorney General had on February 26 2014 asked  Kimaiyo to line up any police officers as witnesses in case Barasa sued the state to avoid losing huge sums of public funds should the suit go through.
True to his words, he is rearing to go ahead with the suit arguing that the State through former Attorney General Amos Wako had failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
He mentions Ford Kenya nominated legislator Patrick Wang’amati whom they had been branded together as Fera activists and who now enjoys the privileges of a lawmaker after he was cleared of  terror activities.
Lining up his defence team which in early 1990s came to the rescue of the Fera suspects which include lawyers Paul Muite, John Khaminwa and George Oraro, Barasa in the affidavit recalls how he together with other suspects were tortured by security agents in Nakuru and Nairobi.
He is also seeking the support from a one-time UN chief Butros Butros Ghali and Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni who, he said, held talks with former then Daniel Moi over the innocence of the Fera victims.
He says he was wrongful linked to the 1982 coup attempt adding that most of the Kenyan youths crossed over to Uganda and Rwanda to avoid arrest. 

Yatta meeting leaves Kalonzo firefighting

Leaders from Ukambani who attended a meeting at the party leader’s home in Yatta have expressed displeasure on the manner it was conducted. The meeting called by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka was attended by political leaders, opinion leader and religious leaders drawn across the three counties went out of control after leaders allied to Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama demanded that Kalonzo state his position of rebel leaders now working closely with Jubilee government. The meeting was however snubbed by top civil servants from the region and MP’s now working with government who declared it a waste of time and only aimed at saving the political career of the Wiper leader.
According to planners of the meeting, Kalonzo was expected to declare his political position and gave the community direction now that he is in unfamiliar territory of opposition. Leaders also expected the party leader to read the riot act on Machakos governor Alfred Mutua for defying the party’s position.
Although the governor had confirmed attendance, he sent his chief of staff Mwengi Mutuse and chief officer Nimrod Mbai who caused uproar after leaders allied to Muthama demanding their immediate departure from the event. Kalonzo reprimanded Muthama and twisted the meeting to a supremacy battle between the two.
Leaders were left wondering why Kalonzo himself was bitter with MPs supporting the government and have a soft spot on the governor who has publicly supported the government including hosting Uhuru Kenyatta in Machakos. According to leaders coalescing around Muthama who later released a press statement declaring the meeting a sham, Kalonzo was playing to the gallery even when integrity issues about Governor Mutua were raised by leaders but was quick to call for dissolution of neighbouring Makueni county and declared his support for Governor Kibwana who was also present.
It is said that Mutua is bragging that he had bought the food and drinks that those in Yatta took. This according to Mutua’s opponents has forced Kalonzo to remain a fence sitter only enjoying their bitter rivalry.
At the meeting, lack of agenda led to leaders dismissing the meeting and accusing Kalonzo of mis-using them for his self political gain. Throwing the first salvo was Kalonzo’s  loyalist Kathiani MP Robert Mbui who told Kalonzo to come open on his presidential plans.
Two days later Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka launched the Ukambani Leaders Development  Forum flanked by leaders from the three counties. The forum  is to mobilise leaders for development. According Munyaka, Kalonzo has fallen short of expectations on the Makueni county matter because he should be calling for a truce amongst the camps with the aim of reconciling them for the sake of development. According to Munyaka, it is defeatist for Kalonzo to take  the dissolution course in Makueni because there is no telling whether those who will be elected will be different from the ones they want removed and so it makes more sense politically to iron out the differences. Besides, the forum feels, it will be nonsensical economically as the funds wasted on campaigns  can go into development to say least of the fact that the time wasted will never be recovered.
What is more worrisome  though,     Munyaka said, is that the Makueni syndrome is being introduced to Machakos through Machakos senator Johnson Muthama and Cord to sabotage development. Machakos county, Munyaka said, should be left alone and advised that Kambas want development and do not care who will be president in 2017 so long as he or she delivers development.
Those against  Kambas associating with Jubilee, he said, are enemies of development who are threatened by any leader who brings development because they have no development record to show for their decades in power. He gave the example of the cancellation of Uhuru’s tour to Kitui which would have seen Uhuru launch development projects as showing that there are some people who do not mean well for Kambas.
Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi has called on Kalonzo to exit politics and leave the stage to new leaders.
Back to the Yatta meeting, Kalonzo had to call a meeting at Ole-Sereni with leaders opposed to Mutua led by deputy governor Bernard Kiala to cool tempers after they threatened to leave him for siding with Mutua. During the meeting the 20 MCAs at loggerheads with the governor demanded to know his position on the matter. According to an insider, Kalonzo promised to clear his name from the Mutua funding talk going around in a public rally to be organised in Machakos. Mutua claims he pays Kalonzo’s workers, fuels his vehicles and gives him cash to contribute in harambees.

No end to Egerton varsity Sacco deep mess

Egerton University Sacco Limited which of late has been embroiled in alleged impropriety of irregular insider lending to board members and staff through its chairman has yet again been hit by irreversible cracks among its members for alleged abuse of office, patronage by government officers and other stakeholders among them, Sacco Authorities Regulations Authority (Sasra).
On one hand, is the Sacco’s chairman Kepha Orina and the moderates led by Aggrey Tshombes. Orina  is said to have dismantled the credit committee and was now performing the committee’s duties,  arbitrarily issuing loans to himself, his cronies in the board among them, Joseph Mwangi, Samuel Owidi  to drum up support for another term in office.
In a letter dated November 11 2015 to the commissioner for co-operative development and marketing under the banner “Abuse of office, loan and employment scandal at Egerton University Sacco”, the members decry having been denied the opportunity to elect their leaders at the time of elections which they say was flawed.
“At the moment as we are talking (writing) to you Bwana commissioner, only less than 30 members of the board and staff have loaned themselves over Sh96 million out of Sh350 million borrowed from Co-operative Bank of Kenya in May last year.  The society boosts of 4,500 members,” it reads.
The Sacco’s board chairman Orina and the supervisory committee chair are being accused of floating the law to acquire themselves and their cronies millions of shillings without the statutory security or approval from the board as by law required.
The following officials and staff have been named as having loaned themselves the money   without following the necessary procedures as required by. They are  Owidi Samuel (Sh7, 996,200), Victor Ruto (Sh7,644,000) Mwangi Joseph (Sh5,400,000), Chester Alivitsa (Sh 5.000,000), Kepha Orina (Sh4,885,000), Esther Ngunjiri (Sh4,380,000), Agnes Mutiti (Sh3,795,000), David Mwayo (Sh3,720,000), Miriam (Sh3,595,000), Matete (Sh3,570,000), Kipgeno (Sh3,200,000), Martin Khatikwi (Sh3,056,000), Augustine Ndeda (Sh 2,720,000), Oketch (Sh2,690,000), Zipporah Kimani (Sh2,465,000), Chelal (Sh2,350,000), Peter Wachira (Sh2,343,000), Boniface Ogeto (Sh2016,000), Martha (Sh200,000), Judy Agala (Sh2,175,000), Ocharo Matoke (Sh1,300,00) while Aggrey Tshombes received Sh1,950,000 among others, the letter to the commissioner of co-operatives states.
There are queries as to why the Sacco wants to give Laikipia University Housing Society Limited a sum of Sh23 million without following the laid down procedures and without the members’ approval.  It is alleged that several services in form of varying loans were given out to members of the board and staff without the approval of the Sacco’s members or in adherence to the requisite norms as by law prescribed and that there were no pay slips attached to the applications.
States the letter: “The loans taken are to be repaid for many months more than required. There is no one following the insider loans policy in compliance with the Act. Some members are due to retire with the loans which means that the Sacco will loose the borrowed amount,” the members moan.
The letter copied to industrialisation cabinet secretary Adnan Mohammed and Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua among others, reveals that even those who did not qualify for the loans were beneficiaries in a system that did not abide by the law, with allegations that there are  now plans by top echelons of the society to destroy loan application forms so that the beneficiaries and the  management’s cronies do not repay.
Sources said the Nakuru county co-operative officer has on many occasions been informed of the anomaly but he for one reason or the other refused to respond to “our concerns even after visiting his office in Nakuru several times”. They accused the co-operative officer of allegedly being a turncoat and never straight forward to listen to their grievances.
It is believed that when Tshombe’s team wanted  to alert the irregular issuance of loans nine  times  against the applicant’s  savings, misuse of office  and Orina team’s alleged highhandedness,  he  and his team  was dismissed  as  busy bodies  out to  earn mileage and take over  the  Sacco leadership  through back door. 
Members have also accused  Sasra  chief  executive officer Carilus Ademba  of  failing to take action  against Orina and his team even after  undertaking  inspection at the Sacco that revealed massive fraud, cases of abuse of office  and ineptitude.

Kambi future in Coast politics bleak as successor makes waves

Labour cabinet secretary Kazungu Kambi was likely to find it more difficult to win the Kaloleni parliamentary seat in the next general elections if the situation on the ground is anything to go by.
To begin with, Kambi who represented Kaloleni constituency after the 2007 general elections is accused of not having fulfilled his development promises which included purchasing commuter buses for Kaloleni women groups, tarmacking of roads, creating employment opportunities among other economic empowerment projects he pledged to fulfill if elected.
And on the strength of the promises and heavy spending in his campaigns, Kambi, a newcomer managed to dislodge Morris Dzoro, then an outgoing tourism minister.
And during his term, Kazungu turned arrogant and was equally not accessible. His handling of the CDF was allegedly not above board and by the end of his parliamentary term, there were threats of being taken to court by a section of voters.
Now, the man who replaced Kambi as Kaloleni MP, Gunga Mwinga, an advocate of the High Court his thirties, has since managed to endear himself to voters by what is described as transparent handling of the CDF and in the process overshadowing Kambi to the extent voters frequently draw parallels in leadership qualities of the two leaders.
Additionally, Mwinga is praised for demonstrating passion for education through improvement of infrastructure to attain quality education for children.
Immediately after his election, the MP is said to have embarked on ensuring that all the primary schools in the constituency had electricity. So far, a dozen schools have been connected, it is being pointed out.
Investigations revealed that the MP has directed most of the CDF funds towards building of classrooms and buying of desks in all the wards in the constituency such as Kithengwani and Mwanamwinga primary schools.
In Kayafungo ward, Kidzini and Miyani primary schools have seen classrooms transformed from mud walled to mordern structures. And in Mariakani ward, Muungano Primary School and Shausia Secondary School are the beneficiary of CDF projects.
And in the same Kayafungo ward, the MP is said to be pursuing the establishment of a constituent university college in the area. The university will be a branch of the Technical University of Mombasa.
On health, the MP has bought maternity equipment for Viragoni Dispensary and he is pushing for construction of houses for nurses and doctors based at Kasemeni Dispensary and Mgamboni Health Centre at Jibana.
The MP has also been vocal in pushing the Kilifi county government to grade the constituency roads.
When Gunga emerged on the scene before the last general elections and declared his intention to contest the Kaloleni seat, Kambi mocked his candidature, saying he was not worried by aspirants who were campaigning with empty pockets.
At the time, Kambi was nicknamed Kazungu Pesa arising from his penchant to dish out large amounts of money to voters in campaign circuits.