Shocking, bizarre incidents Nyaoga team witnessed during Makueni probe

Commission of inquiry to Makueni County petition Chair Mohammed Nyaoga.(PHOTO: COURTESY)

When the Mohammed Nyaoga Commission of Inquiry into the Makueni petition arrived in Kiima Kiu, they found a large crowd of citizens waiting.

They were surprised by the huge turnout until they learned that some residents had hoped the commission was bringing along “mwolyo”. In Kamba language, mwolyo means relief food.

But this hope was couched in grave concern for the state of affairs at the county: David Kitivo, an interlocutor at Kiima Kiu, told the commission that he rushed to sign the petition when he heard that money set aside for water provision was at risk of being used for foreign travel by the MCAs.

The Nyaoga Commission took note of “some heart-rending moments for the commission” during their hearings in Makueni. Some of the residents, the commission says in its report, pleaded with the commission to take permanent residence in Makueni because things were looking up because of their presence. Some wished the commission could run the government instead of their elected leaders.

“The President, was many times, thanked with heart-felt emotion, for having heard the cry of the people and sent the commission to the rescue,” the report says, adding that senior citizens, some aged over 80 years, braved the elements to attend the hearings. “They were distraught by the ruin of their county,” it continues.

The role of Mulika, a renowned witch-doctor from Tanzania in the Makueni conflict was laid bare at the commission hearings. Governor Kivutha Kibwana claimed the witchdoctor was invited into the assembly to carry out “some rituals during the budget-making process.”

“This caused anxiety in the county and as a result, the clergy conducted a cleansing ceremony with the permission of the assembly.”

Following the witchdoctor’s activities, the assembly went into exile in Malili until the cleansing happened. “The governor testified that the ‘Mulika factor’ was real and not borne from some mythology. His security officers managed to apprehend him in Mulolongo and took him to Wote Police Station but he was later released by the police.”

The gravy train in Makueni was found to be so lucrative that MCA’s were pulling out all the stops to milk the county. Apart from foreign travels, the committees of the assembly were particularly lucrative.

According to the report, Edward Lubendi, the clerk of the assembly, confirmed one instance where a committee went through a report and discussed it “comprehensively” in five minutes. Francis Mutuku, the leader of majority could not remember offhead the names of the 14 committees he sits in.

Things were so rosy for Makueni MCA’s enjoying foreign trips that some of them could not remember the titles of the trips. An MCA, while testifying to the commission, said they had gone on a “bed marking” trip.

Commissioners were left wondering how many beds he marked and the circumstances that obtained as he did so. It was soon discovered that he had meant “bench-marking”, and not what he had said.

There were other curious happenings during the hearings that left the commissioners’ tongues wagging. One such was the case of a skimpily dressed woman who made it a routine to sit at the front row facing the commissioners.

Every once in a while, she would expose her undergarments for long periods of time. Her sitting position appeared aligned with a certain commissioner.

When the commissioner was moved, the mysterious lady moved along. That was until the commissioners, through commission officials, decided to confront her about her distracting behaviour.

The following day, an MCA approached the commissioner in question and introduced her to the woman: “I just wanted you to know her,” the unashamed official announced.