Northeastern governor in trouble over nepotism

Not all's well in one of the counties in Northeastern that requires the urgent attention of Ethics and Anti-Corruption boss Twalib Mbarak. Corridors has been told of the sad state of affairs in the county where the relatives of the governor are a law unto themselves in as far as the county operations are concerned. Under the direction of a county secretary and the county service board chairman — both in-laws of the governor — the Service Board is working overtime to sanitise all illegally employed county officers, believed to number more than 1,800. Just on Monday, the Board issued contract letters to 11 advisers of the governor, among them a former lawmaker, two former MCAs and the current co-chair of a religious organisation.

A recently transferred director of planning in a ministry has been syphoning millions of shillings to fraudsters. The man used to give fraudulent vouchers worth millions of shillings to individuals who cash the vouchers and share the loot with him. However, some of the beneficiaries have disappeared with the loot and sent other crooks pausing as anti-graft detectives to threaten the senior government official with exposure. Call it doubled-edged sword. The man who is now so scared of his own shadow is caught between a rock and a hard place.

Five conmen recently obtained Sh5 million from a foreigner claiming they would introduce him to senior government officials to enable him to do business in the country. The conmen hired a senior official of a powerful office where the deal was to be cut. In connivance with the official, the fraudsters drove their victim to a government office within the CBD in a fleet of high-end four-wheel drive vehicles. They ushered him into the office where their accomplice obtained the money from the foreigner and left. The foreigner was shocked fraudsters had access to such a sensitive office. The gang is now lining up yet another victim. 

Word has it that though it's two years to the next general election and dynamics may change, former Embakasi East MP John Omondi will make a comeback in city politics. The MP refused to vie in the 2017 elections and stepped down for one Babu Owino. Several Nairobi MPs from Eastlands were overheard at a Nairobi hotel saying that they fear the MP could unseat any of them. One MP told his colleagues that the former MP has a good grassroots network in at least 10 constituencies in Nairobi. They said that for a long time, Omondi has had good rapport with President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.