• An MP from Rift Valley has become so broke that he has resorted to dealing in fake money.
Image: FILE
Just why is an MP from Machakos county still walking freely after inciting residents of his constituency to take up arms and counter attacks by their neighbours? The two groups have been fighting over pasture for some time. The second term lawmaker recently told locals to arm themselves with machetes ‘for self-protection’. That this declaration was issued in the presence of senior police officers, who seem to have been intimidated into silence by the MP, is yet another baffling situation. The politician is known for invoking big names such as those of IG Hillary Mutyambai and Interior CS Fred Matiang’i as his source of protection.
When the hunter becomes the hunted, the scenes at times get ugly. This is what happened at the Kisumu Police Station when EACC sought to arrest a DCI Inspector accused of soliciting a Sh5,000 bribe to release an impounded vehicle. The police officers ruffed-up his counterparts from the EACC and brandished his pistol after threatening to shoot the detective. He was overpowered and shoved into a waiting car. Authorities at the station worked hard to play down the incident fearing for a backlash in the face of DCI boss George Kinoti’s warning against sleuths resisting arrest when implicated in graft.
An MP from Rift Valley has become so broke that he has resorted to fake money dealings, commonly known in the streets as “wash-wash”. The one time flamboyant legislator is said to have attempted to approach a former MP who was voted out in 2017 general election to join the circle but the latter flatly rejected the overtures. The legislator is said to have run into financial trouble after his former sponsors abandoned him. A small bird told Corridors that the man has on many occasions changed houses in posh estates of Nairobi having been kicked out for not paying rent.
Just how fast does time fly and bring with it the least expected changes? Well, this could be happening to a number of lawmakers who were actively involved in the demonstrations staged by the opposition ahead of the 2017 vote. The lot has adapted a practice of reminding their counterparts in Jubilee that only them (ODM MPs) declare demonstrations. One of the lawmakers was overheard telling his Senate counterpart that their recent demonstration over the revenue bill was unacceptable. The two-term legislator did not mince words in reminding his colleague that if ODM leader Raila Odinga stopped calling for demos, “who are they (Senators) to disturb the tranquility in the country ”.