THE COMMON DENOMINATOR BETWEEN RIGATHI GACHAGUA AND KENNETH LUSAKA

Speaker Kenneth Lusaka is on the ballot to try and recapture the Bungoma County Gubernatorial Seat having lost it in 2017 to H.E Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati. His loss was attributed to a well coordinated multi-prong attack led by Senator Moses Wetangula who accused Lusaka of looting the Bungoma County coffers dry. Of the many scandals, the infamous "Wheelbarrow Scandal" was Lusaka's Achilles' heel. However unbeknown to many, the Wheelbarrow scandal was a pale to a litany of of others. Among them was a tender won by one Rigathi Gachagua to supply medical equipment to Bungoma County Referral Hospital. On 24th December, 2014 (the eve of Christmas Day), Encartar Diagnostics Ltd (owned by Rigathi Gachagua indirectly) delivered an invoice of Sh123,175,000 to Bungoma County. This was slightly under one and half years after the 2013 elections. According to the invoice, Encartar Diagnostics Ltd, indicated that it had supplied: (1) Anaesthetic machines (2) Advanced anaesthetic machines (3) Operating tables (4) Theatre Operating light (5) Delivery Beds (6) Modular Patient Monitor (7) Multi-Parameter Patient Monitor (8) Intensive Care Ventilator (9) Hospital Beds and Mattresses. To date, none of the aforementioned items have been delivered. Interestingly, the tender was awarded in 2014 but was financed over three financial years. The first payment of Sh40 million was made on December 24, 2014, while the last payment of Sh19 million was made on April 15, 2016. As you may be aware, this is one of the more than 12 such transactions that the DCI is investigating. Three issues have been raised thus: (1) Was the process manipulated to award to Encartar? (2) Was the tender price exaggerated? (3) Were the equipment actually delivered? An interesting thing from the above document is payments being made on Christmas eve. Most Government offices are shut by then. Many prolific scandals in Kenya were committed on such days when everyone else is away. Rigathi Gachagua and Kenneth Lusaka were both District Officers (DOs). In fact Lusaka has been heard saying that they were deployed on the same date. Several years down the line, when Lusaka vied for the Bungoma Gubernatorial seat in 2013, Rigathi Gachagua supported him both materially and financially. Rigathi donated a truck/campaign caravan to Lusaka. Could this fictitious payment have been compensation for Rigathi's investment in the campaign? At the very least, Lusaka and Rigathi Gachagua owe the people of Bungoma and by extension Kenya at large an explanation on this scandal that stinks to the high heavens. Had the above equipment been supplied, Bungoma County could not have lost so many lives nor could we be having our people seek medical attention in neighbouring Counties on ailments that could easily be managed at the Bungoma County Referral Hospital. Fast forward, none other than Senator Moses Wetangula has hit the ground running in support of Lusaka's second bid for Bungoma gubernatorial seat. Having seriously decampaigned Lusaka in 2017, Senator Moses Wetangula owes the people of Bungoma an explanation. What changed? In my honest opinion, there is absolutely nothing to be excited about Lusaka's candidacy.

TRUSTING A HYENA TO TAKE CARE OF SHEEP?

Basil Criticos took a loan from Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) using his swathes of land in Taita Taveta as collateral. When he failed to service the loan, AFC was forced to take over a portion of the said land. In 2007 the government bought part of the Criticos land (which then was under AFC) through settlement Transfer funds: 24,000 acres under Jipe Settlement Scheme to resettle squatters, 15,000 acres under Taveta Settlement scheme for the same purposes. From the foregoing, a total of 39,000 acres of the parcel were hived off through this sale to the government. In February 2017, AFC announced that it would sell a further 7200 acres of Criticos land to recover its money. The government moved in to acquire the land to further settle squatters in the area as an addition to the 39,000 acres acquired in 2007. As a result, the government issued 148 title deeds to squatters on the 7200 acres AFC land in January 2018. It was during this period of squatter resettlement that William Ruto (christened Arap Mashamba on account of his huge appetite for land) acquired his initial 1000 acres Kisima Farm which was part of the 7200 acres AFC land handed over to government for resettlement of squatters. From documents available, it is clear that William Ruto did not acquire the land from Criticos as he belatedly claimes. The transfer of initial 1000 acres land was from AFC. He further acquired 1536 more acres from the remainder of Criticos land, through unclear circumstances. Two days ago,William Ruto promised the people of the four Coastal Counties (Mombasa, Kwale, and Lamu Kilifi that he will buy large swathes of land to settle the landless. However, the people have been very fast to realize that this is yet another scheme by William Ruto to accumulate more land for himself, by forcing them to sell their ”idle” land at a throw away price (compulsory acquisitions). They reasoned "If William Ruto has benefited from land meant for squatters as a sitting Deputy President, how much more would he take advantage of, if he was to become president"? With the cases of Langata primary land, Muteshi land, ADC mutaara land, Ruai sewerage land, Taita Taveta Criticos land, Weston land Dolphin hotel land and Masaai Mara land still fresh in the people's mind, can they trust a hyena to take care of the affairs of the sheep? The jury is out there. *Edited, originally by Pauline Njoroge.*

IS RUTO THE GREATEST POLITICAL CONMAN PER EXCELLENCE

Five years ago, Deputy President William Ruto strongly supported the Government decision to create a dry port in Naivasha as a means to decongesting road traffic from Mombasa to Nairobi and from Nairobi to Naivasha. Whereas Hassan Joho was opposed to the same ostensibly because the move would inter alia give rise to unemployment at the Coast, DP Ruto scorned Hassan Joho and even went ahead to call him an "academic dwarf". Yesterday, William Ruto made a 180 degree turn. He promised the Coastal People that Kenya Kwanza (read UDA) will upon taking the Presidency immediately relocate the Naivasha Dry Port back to Mombasa. This is not the first nor will it be the last time that William Ruto has exhibited inconsistency on critical issues affecting the Nation. He has always been consistently inconsistent. He opposed the enactment of the 2010 Constitution. Recently he opposed BBI. According to William Ruto, BBI was all about creating positions. A couple of months later, William Ruto said that he will create the position of Chief Minister among others to accommodate his allies within the National Government. It should also be remembered that when Raila Odinga was cobbling a coalition, William Ruto asserted that UDA will go it alone to the ballot. Weeks later, he quickly abandoned that position and entered into a pre-coalition agreement with other political parties yet we all know that he will vie for the presidency under UDA. From the foregoing, to say that William Ruto is the King of Flip Flop would be an understatement. The question that begs is whether such a person can be entrusted with the affairs of this great Nation? We expect that individuals should go into politics to provide leadership. We expect that individuals will seek for the presidency to provide solutions to the challenges facing the Nation. Politics and especially the presidency should not be about political expediency. Unfortunately for William Ruto it is all about political expediency. He will consistently lie hoping that the lie will somehow crystalize into truth. He will shift positions in quick succession for his own convenience. Five years down the line William Ruto wants to politicize the Naivasha Dry Port as a means to getting a sizable votes from the Coastal region. Ruto has on many occasions fired salvos at his political competitors for their"political conmanship". I suggest that he finds a mirror to look at himself. He will discover that since Kenya's independence, he is the greatest political conman per excellence.

COALITION AGREEMENTS: STOP EMBELLISHING THE HYDRA OF NEGATIVE ETHNICITY

Kenya Kwanza prides itself for crafting a Coalition Agreement that will see key positions in the National Government apportioned to ethnic regional king-pins. For instance ANC and Ford Kenya have been granted a thirty percent share of the National Government. Other regional king-pins equally have their "entitlement". The Regional King-pins will in turn share the positions bequeathed to them with their political supporters. Is this the way to go? In my opinion, this is the return of negative ethnicity. Kenya`s history indicates that successive governments perfected the aspect of ethnicity that dovetailed with patronage, rent-seeking and prebendalism to the detriment of the Nation State. Kenyans felt that without the political will to re-engineer Kenya’s polity both politically and constitutionally the nation-building project will remain convoluted, frustrating and stillborn. The prevailing gloom gave rise to Kenya`s second liberation that culminated in the enactment of the 2010 progressive constitution. Kenyans believed that this chapter will usher in an expanded democratic space to ensure that Kenyans from all walks of life (irrespective of their political and ideological differences) will not be discriminated against. It was hoped that employment opportunities will be available to all and sundry on merit and not premised on one`s proximity to those wielding political power. Fast forward, Kenya Kwanza`s coalition has now unveiled an agreement that threatens to scuttle the gains made. it takes us back to the dark days where accessing opportunities in the National/County Government was dependent upon your proximity to regional/local king-pins. What becomes of those many Kenyans who are unrepresented in such a coalition agreement? Kenyans are forewarned of the consequences of politics of deceit and odious horse trading. We must stop embellishing the hydra of negative ethnicity. This is an agenda whose authors have nothing to write home about. Theirs is a history replete with economic sabotage and plunder. Like birds of feather, they have united to further their selfish agenda. As we clamour for transformational leadership, we need to first transform our mind sets. Only then can we ensure that we do not bequeath Kenya a leadership that has no interest in our collective good.

RUTO NAMES RIGATHI GACHAGUA RUNNING MATE: BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER

Deputy President William Samoei Ruto has after lengthy period of soul searching unveiled his running mate. He has settled on Rigathi Gachagua. But who is this man Rigathi Gachagwa? What are his credentials and does he fit the bill considering the transformational leadership that this Country yearns for? Rigathi Gachagua is a former provincial administrator. He is also an astitute business man (so it said) and boasts of billions of shillings locally and in offshore accounts. It is inexplicable how he managed to amass the billions. That's why he is on the radar of anti-graft bodies in Kenya. It is alleged that he made the billions through phony deals including but not limited to supplying of air to a number of counties in Kenya during the onset of devolution. Bungoma County features prominently among those Counties that colluded with Rigathi Gachagua to steal hundreds of millions from the public coffers. It is for this reason that the anti-graft sleuths have frozen Rigathi Gachagua's bank accounts. For Rigathi Gachagwa to be nominated as William Ruto`s running mate, only one thing comes to mind-birds of a feather flock together. It offends all sensibilities to imagine that William Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua will be the drivers of the much hyped bottom-up economy. Tell it to the birds. Remember the fable of wolve in sheep skin? The public needs to be told in no uncertain terms that a transformative leader is a person with vision and passion to achieve great things for the country. Such a person must be a patriotic leader, who, irrespective of age, earnestly seeks to overtly transform the country in to greater heights of socio-political and economic success.  In Kenya`s situation, transformative leadership cannot be associated with persons with dark pasts and who are obviously engaged in empty rhetoric and political expediency. We need patriotic and conscientious leaders who wield the courage and vision, imagination and resolution that will inevitably go to the roots of our problems.