The passionate call by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe (pictured) for people to turn in oxygen cylinders for Covid-19 patients seems to be an appeal not just to ordinary Kenyans. It sounds like a call to the Who's Who in society. Dozens of VIPs, including politicians, have stocked the life-saving cylinders at home in anticipation of the worst during the third wave of the pandemic. A controversial MP shocked his colleagues when he took them to his home where there were at least four such cylinders, which he openly declared are for his plan B, should things worsen. The lawmaker with a background in medicine wondered why his guests had not taken such precautions despite the severity of the third wave.
***
A senior law enforcement officer who wants to run for election in Western is waxing lyrical about how he believes he will easily bag the ticket of a dominant party and floor his seasoned opponents in the 2022 race. The officer claims he has been funding most politicians in his county, including his senator, hence, he has what it takes to beat them. He is oblivious of the negative perception the ground has against him for allegedly using his position and influence to defy their political wishes during elections. His goal may be more elusive than he thinks.
***
A Member of Parliament who was recently removed from a plum parliamentary position has become the talk of the town. Reason? Soon after the lawmaker was axed from the lucrative post, he immediately embarked on making a series of frantic phone calls to friends and colleagues to help him fundraise cash to buy a car. The man reportedly told his colleagues his only car was upcountry and he had no way to commute to his Nairobi home on the day his official car was impounded. Unable to raise enough cash for his new project, the man has now resorted to using digital taxis to operate within the city as his fundraising continues.
***
A vocal senator's bid to succeed his governor who is serving his second term is increasingly running into headwinds months to the high-stakes 2022 General Election. The lawmaker is said to have delivered little in terms of development when he was in a position to do so. Now he is facing direct opposition from a section of a prominent family in the country. His candidature rattled the family at the advent of devolution in 2013 when a senior member of the family was forced to step down for him and go for a different position that he did not win.
