Constituents’ long, painful wait for help from ‘mheshimiwa’

By Erick Wamanji

Mr Paul Kipkurui leans against a heavily grilled fence and scrutinises every visitor entering Continental House in Nairobi.

And when a big car makes way into the compound, the elderly man struggles to stand as he delicately balances on a think wooden pole — his other leg.

He gazes at the car, scrutinising its occupants and then his face creases in sadness and resignation. It is obvious the person he is looking for is not in the car.

Kipkurui is from Lellat village in Belgut. He is one of hundreds of people who flock Continental House — opposite Parliament Buildings — everyday in search of their MPs help.

The long wait

This Wednesday morning, the elderly man is here for the second week running. But luck is yet to come his way. Although on his coat lapel is the phrase, "If God is for me, who can be against me," his hopes are dimming by the day.

Visitors outside the MPs’ offices.

The Standard on Saturday took time out at Continental House and discovered seeking appointment with an MP is like the classical Waiting for Godot.

At the end of the day, most leave hungry and frustrated.

One thing they discovered is that going beyond the reception desk on the ground floor of the MPs’ plaza is a difficult feat.

But this does not deter the constituents from visiting the house, whose little trappings, like massage parlours, remain unrivalled in the city.

For Kipkurui and others, the search starts at about 6:45am. In their hands are brown envelopes whose contents range from bursary forms, hospital bills to CVs.

"I want to try today for the last time. I have run out of cash and energy. If I can’t get assistance, I will take the first train back to Muhoroni," he explains.

He says he borrows money to come to Nairobi to seek an appointment with the MP but has never succeeded. This is his sixth year of chasing MPs.

"I’m disabled due to a fire incident in 1949. I’m always in and out of hospital and I want the MP to give me NGO contacts to get grants to start a small shop. I don’t have any source of income," says the elderly man.

At the heavily barricaded Continental House, there is a parking yard. This is where you find most help-seekers.

Bitter with life

Their shoes are torn and dust-coated and clothes creased and greased due to daily use. Most are bitter with life and their MPs.

Mr David Chirchir, a Baringo Central constituent, urgently needs help from MP Sammy Mwaita. Two weeks ago, his son, while on a drinking spree in Nairobi, went missing. He has desperately looked for him in hospitals, police cells and mortuaries.

"I want Mwaita to help me contact Safaricom and see if we can trace the last call from my son’s phone," he says. "But I’m told that I need an appointment. I was not even allowed past the gate."

To come to Nairobi, he had to sell a few goats and a cockerel.

Villagers often make big sacrifices to seek audience with their MPs. Most get into debts or sell property but return home empty handed.

The seasoned know better. At 3pm, we find Lilian Nasimiyu from Namanjalala, Kwanza, at the parking lot. She shares sweet potatoes with Emmy Kadzo from Kibarani, Kilifi. "I come here a lot. Today, I chose to carry sweet potatoes. Food here is expensive yet I don’t have a relative to visit," Nasimiyu says.

Sly and insensitive

She wants her MP to help her get back her job as a teacher. She was interdicted in 1999. And she knows who to blame for her MPs ‘missing-in-action’ tendencies — his personal assistant.

Just as the MP is deemed sly and insensitive, the PA is said to be arrogant and a saboteur.

"These personal assistants are the ones who are giving the MPs a bad name. They are arrogant and envious. The PA should not come from the same constituency as the MP, this way I believe we could be assisted much better," she suggests.

Continental House is not the best place to hang around. There is no waiting bay or toilets for visitors.

The heavily barricaded gates are not inviting either. The only consolation is help-seekers are many and they can share their tribulations. But it can also get unpredictable — bad weather and teargas canisters in case of riots.

Owino Obondo urgently needs to see his MP.

"My land is on sale. What do I do? I took an AFC loan and bought a tractor, which eventually got involved in an accident. My initial loan of Sh300,000 has accumulated to Sh8 million. AFC has my title deed and my farm will be sold. I want the intervention of my MP because even AFC had written to say they have cancelled the debt. I was shocked to read in the newspapers an advert about the auction," he says.

He adds: "I don’t sleep at night. They even want to sell my late father’s one-acre land."

Mr James Otipa also has a tale to tell. He has made countless trips to Nairobi from Mombasa to get his MP Ombeso Oparanya (Butere) help him get his Sh17,000 terminal dues from a lawyer. He has been chasing the MP since June, last year.

Considered a nuisance

And perhaps to summarise the voters’ woes is Mr Daniel Odek. For a whole week, he has been trekking from Kawangware hoping that his Nyakach MP Peter Odoyo will lend him an ear.

"I broke my ribs while working in a tea farm in Kericho. I lost my job but I have been pursing the matter and the Public Complaints Committee awarded me damages amounting to Sh120,000. I have not been paid. The MP should help me get this money. I don’t have a job. My wife is also jobless," he says.

With all their tribulations, the visitors are considered a nuisance. Police officers manning Continental House require them to keep some distance from the gate.