Confusion has rocked Homa Bay county government following the unexpected transfer of county commissioner David Kipkemei who was widely accused of being highly partisan in favour of the troubled Governor Cyprian Awiti administration.
David Kipkemei
Inside sources told Weekly Citizen how the controversial officer fashioned himself as a good friend of the Interior CS Fred Matiang’i. However, it came as a total surprise to cartels at Homa Bay county government and to the former county commissioner when he was among the officers affected in the recent county reshuffles announced by Matiang’i. Kipkemei was moved to Harambee House where Matiang’i’s office is, a move seen to be part of punishment to the officer who is not new to controversies ranging from corruption allegations to political troubles. Sources told Weekly Citizen that Governor Awiti immediately embarked on unsuccessful attempts to reverse the transfer of the officer through political heavyweights including Baringo senator Gideon Moi and some State House operatives but this did not yield fruits to remove the CS’s decision.null
Cyprian Awiti
According to unconfirmed reports, the commissioner was a major beneficiary of county tenders through proxy companies and his transfer seems to have unsettled many people who were beneficiaries of highhandedness and who are on the radar of investigative agencies over the misuse of Covid-19 funds in Homa Bay county. Kipkemei has been in trouble with politicians accusing him of open biasness in his operations and this played when he was transferred from Nyeri to Homa Bay. He was barely five months in Nyeri when he got a transfer amidst increasing political chaos that saw Kieleweke and Tangatanga supporters go physical during several meetings including one that was attended by William Ruto. At his last work station Kipkemei had forged a good working relationship with the Homa bay county government and at the same time had made grudges with a number of politicians from the region.
Charles Ong’ondo
By the time of his transfer, political temperature had risen in Homa Bay following a nasty supremacy war that erupted between him and Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were. The fight turned ugly after the lawmaker accused Kipkemei of masterminding his arrest and consequent persecution over violation of Covid-19 rules when he presided over the launch of a CDF project in his constituency. Ong’ondo was fined Sh15,000 on his own admission for failing to ensure social distancing during the event. However he said he was forced to plead guilty to the charges not bt to avoid a protracted court case. The furious legislator immediately attributed his arrest to bad blood between him and the administrator, stemming from Kodera land saga.null
Gladys Wanga
The lawmaker has embarked on a spirited move to repossess large chunks of land at Kodera from grabbers while on the hand the commissioner has been accused of protecting the grabbers in exchange of hefty bribes. According to the MP, his woes started after he presented a petition in parliament, highlighting how a few individuals had invaded the land in question and dubiously allocated themselves thousands of acres at the expense of the poor locals. The lawmaker sensationally claimed that prior to his arrest, a team of land gabbers had raised Sh300, 000 as a bribe to the commissioner who immediately launched intimidation tactics against him. Kipkemei had barely settled in the county before he was implicated in a series of corruption allegations including claims that he colluded with some corrupt Homa Bay county officials to loot Sh10 million Covid 19 emergency funds.
John Mbadi
Those in the know describe him as an exact opposite of his predecessor Herman Shambi who was celebrated for his persistent condemnation of corruption and misuse of public fund. Supporters of the MP and a section of local leaders have accused the administrator of igniting unnecessary political tension by selectively frustrating leaders in the name of Covid-19 rules. They loudly wondered why Ong’ondo was e arrested while he was only educating his voters over Covid-19 during the launch of an office constructed by CDF fund. Other leaders including Governor Awiti, Suba MP John Mbadi and women representative Gladys Wanga had previously met large crowds but were not arrested.
Eyebrows were raised over the county commissioner’s action to call a press conference in his office to announce that the MP had been arrested and locked up yet he presented himself at the court after police summons.
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