Friends turn into foes as governors, senators feud
Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and Senator Ledama Ole Kina. The pair are among several county leaders who are at loggerheads over the management of devolved units.
What you need to know:
- A year after the dust settled on the 2022 General Election, the winds have shifted and several governors and senators who rode to power in the same political vehicles can barely stand one another.
- The differences stem from a complex interplay of factors, including the battle for control of county billions, unfulfilled promises, and unbridled political ambition.
They were once joined at the hip in marriages of convenience that were sealed at the altar of party politics and consummated through the exigencies of political survival.
But over a year after the dust settled on the 2022 General Election, the winds have shifted and several governors and senators who rode to power in the same political vehicles can barely stand one another as the houses they build on quicksand tumble down like stacks of cards.
Their differences, the Nation has learnt, stem from a complex interplay of factors, including the battle for control of county billions, unfulfilled promises, and unbridled political ambition.
Bitter feuds have been witnessed in Nakuru, Meru, Narok, Kitui, Nairobi, Bomet, Machakos, Uasin Gishu, Kiambu and Kakamega counties, where governors have accused senators of using their positions to settle scores and gain political mileage in preparation for the next polls.
They have also argued that the Senate's oversight role should be exercised in a diligent, objective and transparent manner.
In Narok, Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and Senator Ledama Ole Kina have been involved in a prolonged tussle over the implementation of development projects and management of revenue accrued from the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.
Their bones of contention are centred on health, roads and tourism sectors, with Mr Ledama accusing Mr Ntutu's administration of financial mismanagement and failure to account for Sh451 million in revenue accrued from gate fees paid by tourists at the Maasai Mara.
"Several roads, hospitals and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDEs) centres have been abandoned by contractors even after payments were made by the county government, yet no action had been taken with taxpayers not getting value for their money," Senator Ole Kina said. Mr Ntutu has refuted the claims, accusing the senator of engaging in sideshows to gain mileage with voters.
Bomet County Governor Hillary Barchok before the Senate Public Accounts Committee at KICC, Nairobi on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.
In Bomet, Governor Hillary Barchok is involved in a political contest with Senator Hillary Sigei in what has sucked in a section of Members of the County Assembly. Prof Barchok has accused Mr Sigei of waging a smear campaign against his administration.
Read: Why counties go broke
"The senator has been fuelling divisions in the county with the aim of painting my administration in bad light. I can assure you that he will not succeed and we will face him head on," the county boss told a public rally at Bomet Green Stadium in September last year. Mr Sigei has insisted that he does not have an axe to grind with Governor Barchok.
In Meru, the failed impeachment bid of Governor Kawira Mwangaza, which was backed by Senator Kathuri Murungi, has intensified their rivalry.
The governor accused the senator of orchestrating the impeachment together with her deputy Isaac Mutuma and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.
From left: Lurambi MP Titus Khamala, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and former Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito (right) address journalists at the former county chief’s Mabole home in Butere, Kakamega County, on January 14, 2024.
In Kakamega, Senator Boni Khalwale and former governor Wyclifee Oparanya have ganged up against Governor Fernandes Barasa.
Mr Barasa has accused Dr Khalwale of seeking to discredit his county administration while eyeing the governorship in the 2027 polls, while Dr Khalwale has criticised the Barasa administration for failing to allocate enough bursary funds to the wards. In the last elections, Mr Oparanya supported Mr Barasa.
In Nakuru, the honeymoon between Governor Susan Kihika and Senator Tabitha Karanja seems to be over following the controversial take-over of the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital by the county government late last month. The two campaigned as a team under the UDA party banner.
Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika. A section of UDA leaders from Nakuru have formed a political outfit opposed to Governor Kihika's leadership style.
Ms Karanja has accused the governor of walking back pledges she made to voters during the campaigns.
“l will mobilise MCAs to table an impeachment motion against Ms Kihika. I will also seek an audience with President William Ruto regarding the whole saga,”Ms Karanja told journalists at a press conference in Naivasha last week.
The call for impeachment has, however, attracted the wrath of a section of the ward rep, who have accused Ms Karanja of disrespecting them.
County Assembly Majority Leader Wesley Langat faulted the senator for purporting to issue instructions to the House on such a sensitive matter in a public forum instead of following the guidelines as stipulated in the standing orders.
Ms Kihika has, on her part, dared those interested in her seat to wait until the 2027 elections to campaign for it.
In Nairobi, Governor Johnson Sakaja of UDA and Senator Edwin Sifuna of the Orange Democratic Movement have locked horns over the use of county resources, with the latest tiff sparked by the Dishi na County initiative amid claims of misappropriation of funds and lack of transparency.
