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A Mombasa resident claims President Uhuru Kenyatta owes him money for services rendered 13 years ago, The Nairobian has learnt.
Elijah Ogot Amoro from Chanzu, Kisauni Constituency, is demanding payment of Sh180,000 and expenses amounting to Sh382,000, debts that have been outstanding since the 2002 presidential campaigns.
The 48-year-old father of four camped in Nairobi for four days in November 2015, but failed to reach President’s Uhuru’s Personal Assistant, Jomo Gecaga, forcing him to go back home empty-handed.
Ogot claims he was a coordinator of the Young Turks Operation Uhuru Wins For President in the Coast Region and swore an oath of secrecy on December 2002. He showed The Nairobian a copy of the oath and a letter signed by Uhuru Kenyatta when he ran for the presidency on a Kanu ticket.
The letter which was copied to the Kisauni Presiding Officer reads: “This is to inform you that I have appointed you as one of my agents in terms of and for the purpose of the above regulations.”
Elijah worked as a coordinator of 39 members of the alleged movement since 2002, when President Uhuru vied for presidency and failed. “We however continued to work with him until 2013 when he won the elections,” says Ogot, a hotelier by profession.
It’s in the 2002 election campaigns that Ogot, through an agreement, was allegedly entitled to a minimum of Sh3,000 per day for his work as a coordinator for a span of 60 days.
His dues therefore amounted to Sh180,000. During the campaigns, Ogot and his members reportedly incurred expenses amounting to Sh382,000, which was spent on stationery, airtime, travel expenses from Mombasa to Nairobi, hotel accommodation, among other expenses.
This totals to Sh562,000 that Ogot is demanding from the president for the “good job” he says he did for his campaigns in 2002 even if he failed.
On July 23, 2004, Ogot engaged the services of Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates who wrote to the president (The Nairobian has a copy of the letter) requesting the claims of Sh180,000 by Ogot. He never received a reply.
The attempt to get his money, he says, has been a torturous journey and so far has proved fruitless, since he has been unable to secure an appointment with Uhuru’s PA, whom he says does not pick his calls.
He says he has been in constant communication with the then PA Mr J N Burugu, who referred him to the current PA, Jomo Gecaga, but he has not been successful; neither was The Nairobian when we tried reaching him on his personal number.
“Before Pope Francis came, I called PA Jomo who advised me to wait until after the Pope’s visit because they were busy. I travelled from Mombasa on Friday 27, October night, hoping to see Jomo on Saturday, but to date, I haven’t managed to meet him,” claims Ogot.
He says he will continue to be in Nairobi until he secures an appointment with Jomo to settle out his issue.
“I use my own resources most of the time to finance the operations of the movement, confident that I will get back my money from the Uhuru and even if lucky, land a job through the president’s influence,” says Ogot.
“I have been invited to various State functions, I have access to State House and even have contacts of the Deputy President and other prominent people in the government, but that does not help me. I need the money to sort out a few issues,” says Ogot.
He says that he is hard-pressed for cash since his first daughter has just graduated with Economics and Sociology from Chuka University and has not secured a job.
Says Ogot:”My second daughter is at Multimedia University in Ongata Rongai, but I can’t even visit her while in Nairobi because I don’t have money. My third daughter, who is so clever in school is at Bahati Girls Nakuru with last year’s arrears of Sh74,000 fee still outstanding, and I am not even sure she’ll report back to school this new term.”
According to Ogot, “Since that time, my calls to Jomo have gone unanswered, neither does he reply to my text messages.”
The President’s PA did not pick our calls either.
The Director of Digital Communication in the Office of the President, Dennis Itumbi, refused to comment on the matter, saying that was a 2002 political party matter that should be addressed by Kanu.
But Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat clarified that as a rule, campaign coordinators are not employees but are engaged on a voluntary basis.
He also said the 2002 election slogan was ‘Uhuru na Kazi’ and that he had no recollection of any outfit called ‘Young Turks Operation Uhuru Wins For President in the Coast Region.’
