Talk of Town: Inside political WhatsApp group as Party boss issues warning to official

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Of lawmakers too impatient to wait

Two MPs cut short their visit to a coastal town, leaving just half an hour after arrival due to what they deemed unacceptable delays during an annual official duty. The lawmakers arrived at their hotel at 3 am, only to find every room occupied. Hotel management requested they wait 30 minutes while arrangements were made to accommodate them. However, the MPs – one serving his second term and the other in his first and both chairing powerful committees – refused to wait and instead left for the airport to catch the next available flight back to Nairobi.

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CS back in fold after loyalty pledge

A Cabinet Secretary whose loyalty had come under scrutiny has been searching for ways to prove his “steadfast” commitment to his boss and the government. He recently found an opportunity at an event in his home county to publicly praise the President, who was present, and the agenda of the government. The minister’s handlers now hope the move has brought him in the good eyes of his boss. His name had been circulating on many platforms, amid rumours that he might be dismissed for alleged disloyalty to the appointing authority.

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Party after party, as official admonished by boss

There was celebration in a WhatsApp group after a political leader read the riot act to an official of his party against running their mouths on other leaders. An MP belonging to the party took to the group, where our bird is a member, went on a celebration spree, praising the party chief for reining in the official. Other members of the group joined in the celebrations, saying the official has been talking like he is the owner of the party. They expressed concern that the official sometimes communicates unpopular decisions that have not been endorsed by party members and leaders.

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Vicious war for 2027 party ticket

Three women leaders are embroiled in a battle over who to get the party ticket to contest for the gubernatorial position in one of the counties in Western Kenya. One of the leaders believes she will be rigged out and will not be handed the ticket due to the closeness of her competitor to one of the senior party officials. She has, however, vowed not to let it go easily, promising a fight like never before, including using her proximity to other centres of power to secure the party ticket or scuttle the entire process altogether. Party members eagerly await the outcome of this “war”.

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Diminishing publicity scares leader

A top politician who skipped the burial of former Prime Minister and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga now seems to be ruing the lack of strategy in the decision, with all attention having shifted from his hard tackles against the government to activities happening around the home of the influential party leader. After skipping the well-attended burial last month, believing it was a strategy and that it was a matter that was to pass for business to return as usual, our little bird says the politician has now been forced to craft a new plan following his “blunder”. Will it work? We wait and see.

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