Intolerance wave spirals as leaders draw daggers in referendum row

Nandi County Chief of Staff Timon Kosgei is wheeled to the Kapsabet District Hospital for after he was attacked at a rally.

A stiff-necked Governor, rebellious County Assembly, conspiratorial area leaders and the suffering people — this is the unfolding story of troubled county of Makueni.

On Tuesday, the county took the spiraling wave of political intolerance in the country to  new levels with the shooting of Governor Kivutha Kibwana’s bodyguard, chief of staff, a county orderly, a pastor and a former area councilor during a gunfight involving county officials.

The events leading to the shooting at the county assembly are bizarre: a stand-off between the county assembly and the governor over the budget, a strange notice of the Tuesday meeting that was widely publiciced in the press, a planning meeting held in far-away Sai Rock hotel in Mombasa which excluded the governor and an exchange of furious letters.

When a similar dispute occurred last year, the governor threatened to resign and it took a passionate appeal by the then newly-elected Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr to MCA’s for matters to cool down.

But after Tuesday’s events, the two cannot see eye-to-eye.

“I have refused to meet him because he said I want to kill him,” Mutula Junior told The Standard On Sunday. “He might swallow something and come to collapse before me and then I would be blamed. I cannot dare.”

Governor Kivutha believes otherwise. “Bodyguards cannot shoot without being ordered to by the persons they protect,” he said.

“I am extremely worried about my safety, about my life. Even during single-party days when I was in the thick of things, it never got this bad. Assassination is being devolved.”

CORD leader Raila Odinga termed the situation in Makueni as “unfortunate” and the “height of impunity.”

“I do not hold brief for any governor but the way the leadership of Makueni is solving their issues is the most primitive, worrying and revolting ever,” he said, alluding to use of fire-arms and the controversial advert placed in newspapers on the day the chaos were witnessed.ess advert

The poorly-worded two-page advert — one page by “Makueni County leaders” and the other by Kibwezi West MP Patrick Musimba — bore the symbol and a “pamoja tunaweza” slogan associated with one of the leaders.

The leaders’ advert was signed by most of the MCAs and area leaders in favour of the meeting.

Mutula Junior did not sign against his name while Musimba and another area MP Jessica Mbalu signed twice as MPs and MCAs.

“How can people buy space in all newspapers inviting leaders to a meeting and then it is said the governor was not invited? Why should he seek permission to attend a meeting in his own county? Raila posed.

“And worst of all, the use of fire arms. This is the height of impunity and we condemn it in strongest terms possible. And the government is silent about it!”

Investigations by The Standard on Sunday revealed a serious disconnect between the governor and the area’s MCAs, MPs and Senator.

While the governor believes that he is being fought for refusing to succumb to the MCAs’ selfish demands, especially on the budget, the area leaders believe he has refused to involve them in development projects and planning.

The governor has stuck to his guns saying that according to the law, this year’s recurrent budget ceiling for the county assembly is Sh356 million.

But in their budget, the MCAs voted for Sh904 million in salaries, allowances and mileage (Sh673 million), development (Sh62 million) and cars and mortgage (Sh240 million).

The assembly has taken the Controller of Budget to court over the matter. However, through a consent, the assembly was allowed to access Sh74 million for salaries, allowances and mileage (for July and August) and Sh18 million for development.

For September and October, according to Governor Kibwana, the assembly is demanding Sh100 million for salaries, allowances and mileage.

According to him, the MCAs  deserve only Sh59 million for the two months when the ceiling is factored in.

And since they overdrew their Sh59 million two monthly entitlement by taking Sh74 million in July and August (overdraft of Sh14 million) they now deserve only Sh44 million. The governor believes this stand-off is the one which precipitated the impeachment of his finance minister on Thursday, two days after the shooting.

The minister was impeached allegedly on grounds of incompetence, irregular allocation of bursaries and lack of accountability.

On the same day, the county agriculture minister was impeached over alleged incompetence.

“The strategy is to impeach all my ministers and delay my budget so that nothing moves to plan,” he said. “My lands and water ministers are next on the chopping board.

No apologies

“Our MPs are being unwittingly drawn into the matter. It’s because nimewakalia ngumu, and I have no apologies over that,” Kibwana said.

According to Mutula Junior, however, the governor is clutching on straws.

He says the governor has refused to involve elected leadership in county affairs and has refused to submit himself to assembly accountability mechanisms and is generally elitist in approach to common issues.

“The citizens themselves have complained. We were shocked to learn all the activities happening around our county in as far as the Standard Gauge Railway is concerned have all involved the office of the governor, yet here we are in the dark?”

He claims Kibwana had approved Sh30 million for civic education on the constitution and scaled down education budget contrary to MCAs’ wishes.

“What is your priority as a Makueni resident? Is it an education on the katiba or school fees? He’s getting it all wrong.”

He showed a letter he wrote to the Speaker of County Assembly Stephen Ngelu on September 18, acknowledging the dispute over the budget and “other matters.”

He proposed the formulation of a dispute resolution mechanism involving the controversial County Development Board.

Governor Kibwana, however, believes the way forward now is for the entire County Assembly to resign.

Mutula Jnr, however, says reconciliation should work.

Governor Kibwana is also proposing dissolution of the entire county government but the Senator is adamant this won’t come to pass.

I won’t resign!

“I cannot support either the impeachment of the governor or dissolution of the county government,” the Senator says. “The two options must wait until all other mechanisms are exhausted. We have already committed ourselves to reconciliation and appended our signatures to it before the hooligans came calling.

“I am disappointed that majority of the MCAs are Wiper and the leadership of Wiper has allowed things to happen the way they are happening.

“I thought I was a friend of the Wiper party. At the same time I also understand because I have seen them defy Wiper party position in other instances. Perhaps more firmness is required.”

Asked whether he was considering resigning,  he said he cannot resign unless the people of Makueni asked him to. “But before that, the MCAs must all resign  if they are people of honour. They have failed the people of these county.”