Governors cry foul after missing coveted State medals over political intrigues

Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki receives the Second Class, Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart, the State house in Nairobi in recognition of her distinguished and outstanding service. (PHOTO: JOHN MUCHUCHA/ STANDARD)

The Council of Governors (CoG) is seeking answers on why county bosses did not receive the prestigious Elder of the Golden Heart (EGH) Award despite being nominated for the State medals.

Some 42 of the 47 governors had been nominated to receive the awards from President Uhuru Kenyatta on Jamhuri Day.

State House Wednesday confirmed that the 42 governors nominated by the Council of Governors (COG) never made it to the final list of those honoured for their distinguished service to the country.

The council has now written to the Office of the President, seeking answers on the change of heart.

The council’s Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Mogeni said she was equally surprised at the omission of the governors from the roll of honours and has written to the Office of the President to establish what really happened.

No explanation

“We were told at the eleventh hour that the governors will not receive the medals and there was no explanation. So I wrote to them Wednesday asking to be told what happened,” Ms Mogeni said.

The Standard has learnt that last-minute political intrigues and confusion may have lead to the governors being locked out of the awards.

Among those who missed out on the awards is the CoG Chairman Peter Munya.

An official from State House who requested not to be named for fear of breaching protocol, called The Standard Wednesday to correct an ‘erroneous’ report showing that the 42 governors had actually been selected to receive the medals.

“There were too many nominees and the vetting was enormous,” said the source.

The CoG had nominated the 42 governors for the awards and presented the list to the vetting committee.

The CoG had, however, omitted governors Isaac Ruto (Bomet), Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni), Amason Kingi (Kilifi), Moses Akaranga (Vihiga) and Ali Roba (Mandera), who had already received the same awards under the previous governments.

Signs that things had gone awry emerged on the eve of Jamhuri Day when the CoG communications department wrote to all governors telling them not to travel to Nairobi for the awards as the medals would be sent through the county commissioners.

That evening, the Kenya Gazette notice number 10265 was out and their names were conspicuously missing.

A source at CoG believes some powerful officials in the Office of the President may have just decided to leave out the governors for political expediency.

A senior communications officer in one of the counties say the message sent from State House that governors should not go to the awards ceremony points to a bigger picture in the plot.

Wednesday, Mr Munya said he has not been briefed about what happened about them.

Another governor from central Kenya who had been nominated for the award, and who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said: “I don’t care about the award. I worry more about Wanjiku (common person). If Wanjiku is happy with me, then I have no problem.”

As the governors missed out on the State medals, President Kenyatta decorated two of his fiercest critics – Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Chairman John Mbadi.

The two leaders, alongside Kisii ODM nominated Senator Janet Ong’era, were awarded with the First Class, Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), for their exemplary service to the nation.