• Youths stormed county offices over reports of irregular recruitment of staff
• Chief of staff says Sh6 million raised for the governor’s upkeep in UK went missing
The supremacy battles between Bomet Deputy Governor Hillary Barchok and county secretary Evaline Rono are tearing apart Governor Joyce Laboso's administration.
Laboso left the country on May 29 for the United Kingdom to seek medication and was to run after a month.
She tasked her deputy Barchok, Rono and the chief of staff with the mandate of running the county.
Ugly incidences were on Tuesday witnessed at the governor’s offices when angry youths stormed the county paralysing normal activities over the arrest of a youth accused of leaking documents from the human resource department.
The more than 50 youths accused Rono of taking advantage of Laboso's absence to irregularly employ her cronies.
More than 241 people, they said, have already been given employment letters over the last two weeks.
The youths, who locked up the human resource and other key offices, demanded answers from the county secretary and the deputy governor over the leaked list of individuals on the payroll.
Barchok was not in office during the incident while Rono, who was in her office, was forced to flee through the backdoor as the youths closed the main entrance demanding that she meet them.
A crisis meeting had to be convened by the MCAs and Jubilee officials after it became evident Barchok was away and after the county secretary had fled.
The Jubilee county chairman Bernard Mutai and county assembly majority leader Josphat Kirui chaired the meeting where they assured the youths that the issue would be addressed.
They also pleaded with them to stop bickering and allow the governor to recover from her ailment.
In the meeting, however, chief of staff Jane Sigilai was at pains to explain how the duo–deputy governor and county secretary-had held the county at ransom due to their infighting.
Sigilai said several functions had stalled as a result of the wars between the two.
She also claimed the duo had deliberately frustrated ongoing projects as to portray the governor in a bad light.
“The governor has constantly asked us to move around the wards but because of their wrangles, it has not been possible for us to do that,” Sigilai said.
She cited an incident where Sh6 million raised at the county for the governor’s upkeep while in the UK mysteriously went missing.
The county assembly, she said, had raised Sh4 million while the executive contributed Sh2 million after the duo claimed there were no funds in the county.
“The governor is facing hard times while away… she is sick and wants her image to remain active but those she entrusted with the running of the affairs at the county have their own differences,” the chief of staff said.
Efforts to reach the county secretary were futile, however, as she did not answer our calls.
Barchok dismissed as untrue the claims the governor was doing well and that the issue of missing cash was a cooked story.
On Wednesday, interdenominational prayers for the governor were held at the county.
Edited by R.Wamochie