A senior Jubilee senator from the Rift Valley appeared very uncomfortable in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday when the Head of State made an impromptu tour of parliamentary leadership offices. The vocal lawmaker has been on the warpath against the President over the anti-graft war. He has engaged in a no-holds-barred tirade. But on Thursday, he was reserved, with his unease, gait and physique depicting a troubled politician. Even in his office, DP William Ruto had to take the lead role in an effort to do some damage control after the President openly appeared to shrug off any nudge for a discussion by the politician.
An ODM lawmaker is a man under siege. He often forces his way into party leader Raila Odinga's overseas trips through a working arrangement with one of the opposition chief's aides. The MP from Nyanza was the subject of an intense discussion by a section of party colleagues who questioned the criteria used to select him for Raila's tours. One of the MPs, who had gathered at a lounge in Parliament, was overheard complaining how the MP is favoured by a trusted Raila aide when it comes to strategic trips outside Nairobi or even abroad. Tellingly, a senior member of the party, who was also present during the tete- a- tete, loudly laughed away sarcastically.
Is the electoral agency aware that one of the frontrunners in the Embakasi South parliamentary race was on Thursday hosting an illegal campaign rally at the heart of a populous slum in the Constituency? The politician, known to have deep pockets, assembled boda-boda riders and rode with them deep into the filthy sides of 'Kiaruben' slums where he treated them generously in the wee hours of the night. In what, perhaps, could suggest that the meeting was well planned with the endorsement from some senior security officers, a couple of other youths and civilian officers were stationed to keep vigil along major slum pathways to ward off any threat from opponents. Wasn't this rally held well outside the official campaign hours allowed in law? Why did some security officers offer protection to this illegal activity? Is the IEBC in slumber? These are some of the questions awaiting the electoral agency.
On matters security, there is a new wave of crime in Nairobi's Kasarani, especially targeting pedestrians along the Mwiki road. Some youths believed to be members of the outlawed Mungiki sect are back terrorising residents walking to and from work either late in the evening or early in the morning. In clear impunity, they have taken over Hunters, Santon and Mwiki bus stations. They are collecting levies from Matatu operators and waylaying residents and robbing them at gunpoint. In the last two months, several residents have been carjacked, ambushed and robbed despite police posts dotting the area. Is the Kasarani OCPD aware of the deteriorating security situation? Urgent intervention is needed before matters run out of hand.
