The fight between two Orange Democratic Movement politicians echoes the dilemma of the hyena.
Otoyo the hyena, the main cast of a popular folklore, came to a crossroads. Each road led to a kill. The hyena was undecided on the path to take. One leg was on one path, and the other limb was on the other. A struggle ensued. The beast burst, then died.
Contenders for county governor are engaged in a duel of attrition. The stage for the drama, 'Expose Me, I Expose You, is Homa Bay county. Here, the visible sign of devolution is accumulation of personal wealth.
County officers have married more women, built more homes, and bought more houses. They have invested in hotels and bought more cars.
Their appetite for conspicuous consumption soars above their official incomes. Those who know say they are beneficiaries of corruption.
When they took up those offices, they were farmished. Now they are plump. They have dished well, at the expense of the electorate.
The gubernatorial race has attracted fresh eaters, many of them ne'er-do-wells. They are exposing each other without let.
Suba South MP John Mbadi claims one of his competitors, Gladys Wanga, cannot be trusted with more when she cannot account for less.
Wanga, a two-term Homa Bay Woman Rep, claims Mbadi, a three-term MP, cannot be trusted with more when he is blundering with less.
Mbadi is asking Wanga to account for the Sh640 million her office has received for 10 years on behalf of Karachuonyo, Kasipul, Kasipul-Kabondo, Rangwe, Homa Bay Town, Ndhiwa, Suba South and Suba North constituencies.
Each constituency receives about Sh8 million from the affirmative action fund. The fund is administered under the patronage of the woman rep.
Mbadi tells his rallies Wanga's affirmative action funds have bought branded umbrellas and paid for three jua kali market stalls in three constituencies. Five other constituencies have nothing to show under the leadership of the woman rep. Wanga is running for governor.
The woman rep also runs an initiative, 'Mama County Says', whose impact cannot be quantified. Her Abedo Fund, for women retail traders, has seen many poor women victimised for taking loans they cannot repay. Some have lost the roofs of their houses and livestock to auctioneers.
Homa Bay Women Sacco has no record of success. Mbadi has challenged Wanga to show anything that shows she deserves public promotion.
Wanga, too, is asking Mbadi to account for the Sh1.5 billion Suba South has received as NG-CDF during his 15 years as MP. Suba South constituency is one of the poorest, the thirstiest—a remote, muddy, hilly and rocky terrain.
Mbadi is running for Homa Bay governor, without much to show for his term as one-constituency MP for 15 years. The county has eight constituencies.
The Mbadi-Wanga row underestimates public intelligence. The possible consequence of their fight is rejection. Mbadi has since fallen out of the race, which he had a slim chance of winning.
The two were among the party clique that imposed lacklustre Cyprian Awiti as governor, for the second time, in 2017. They wish to succeed Awiti, after a blunderbuss decade. Voters know Awiti messed the county executive.
The squabblers come from minority constituencies. Wanga comes from Rangwe, with about 50,000 votes. She will share the vote with other governor aspirants—former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and former county secretary Isaiah Ogwe.
Mbadi comes from Suba South, with about 50,000 votes. Senator Moses Kajwang', also from Suba North, may secure another term.
This leaves the field open for former Kasipul MP Joseph Oyugi Magwanga, from the three-constituency Rachuonyo, with about 300,000 votes.
He has the backing of Ndhiwa, with about 120,000 votes. A wide spectrum of county elders has endorsed him. He also enjoys a strong foothold in all the eight constituencies.
At the time of writing this column, from Homa Bay county, there were negotiations to have Magwanga and Wanga run on a shared ticket.
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