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Pauline Waswa

Bungoma MCAs led by the majority leader Joseph Nyongesa have today endorsed Senate speaker Ken Lusaka for the county’s top seat.

The MCAs say that the county’s first governor has what it takes to put Bungoma county in a good place once again.

Speaking at the Ken Lusaka command Centre in Bungoma town, the 35 MCAs said they will support Lusaka since he is capable of reviving the economy and the normal functioning of Bungoma county.

The County has a total of 45 wards in its 9 constituencies.

Lusaka is set to be received officially by Ford Kenya as the party’s gubernatorial aspirant on 11th March at Bungoma Posta grounds.

The majority leader Joseph Nyongesa said that they will pull their weight behind Lusaka and support him fully to see him win the elections come 9th of August this year.

His sentiments were echoed by Elizabeth Tindi, Tongaren MCA saying that during Lusaka’s regime, the number of bags of fertilizers distributed to the farmers was 700 and now it is only 300 saying that the county is directing the funds that are meant to help the residents on unimportant things.

Lwandanyi MCA Tony Barasa also campaigned for Lusaka saying that many projects have stuck since Governor Wycliffe Wangamati took over.

He noted that it is just wise for the people of Bungoma to vote in Lusaka for the second time so that he can come in and finish the projects that he started as the first governor of Bungoma.

“Many projects have stalled since Wangamati came in and we are certain that Lusaka is coming to complete them”, he said.

The MCAs said that they have resolved to spread the gospel to every resident of Bungoma county and with that, they are set to have several rallies in every subcounty.

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Sirisia member of parliament John Waluke has rubbished the claims that he won’t be able to defend his seat following the ongoing case of him defrauding the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) saying that he is fully on the race and his competitors should not celebrate.

Speaking at a funeral in Lwandanyi ward, Waluke told his competitors to brace themselves for a tough fight saying that there is nothing that can hinder him from vying for he has been cleared to run for the parliamentary seat.

“I am aware that people are waiting for me to be jailed so that they can come forward to fight for my seat, am here to disappoint you because I will run the race,” he said.

This comes after the case of him and his business partner Grace Wakhungu was scheduled for May after the first hearing of an appeal happening on 15th of February 2022.Waluke and Grace are alleged to have acquired Ksh 313 million from the National Cereals Produce Board through fraud.

He went further to ask the people of Sirisia to vote him in for another term saying that he is the one fit to run the constituency and asked the people to ignore the propaganda from his competitors.

He went ahead to campaign for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) saying that he is certain that it is going to form the next government saying that Raila is not fit to rule the country.

“We as members of UDA, we know that we are going to form the next government. Raila doesn’t have the capacity to run this country and that is why am asking you people to come together and support William Samoei Ruto,” he said

He assured the residents that if elected again he will use the opportunity to continue changing the outlook of Sirisia.

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Ford Kenya party leader Moses Masika Wetangula has been asked to stop forcing a leader of his choice to the people of Kabuchai Constituency.

While addressing the press in Bungoma town, Doctor Evans Wafula Makokha, an aspirant who is seeking to unseat MP Majimbo Kalasinga of Kabuchai Constituency noted that Wetangula has been actively participating in imposing leaders on the people of Kabuchai denying them an opportunity to practice their democratic right.

“This time around we are calling upon you senator Wetangula to leave the Kabuchai people to determine their leadership. We don’t want imposition of leaders in Kabuchai, ”he said.

Doctor Evans Wafula Makokha. Photo/Courtesy

He went further to say that it is time for Kabuchai to have a chance for it has been doing badly in terms of development compared to the other constituencies in the county, saying that he is fit to actualize that.

Dr Wafula went ahead to ask for a lifestyle audit to be done on the sitting MP Majimbo Kalasinga and the members of CDF in his constituency to determine the source of their wealth saying that they have been busy squandering public funds instead of putting it in good use.

“We have evidence that the current leadership in Kabuchai is so much corrupted in that the MP awards himself tenders through other people and some are bribing him to get the tenders instead of awarding them to people who deserve it, ”he said.

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Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula has lashed out at President Uhuru Kenyatta for imposing a president of his choice to the people.

The Ford Kenya party leader while speaking at Ford Kenya offices in Bungoma told the head of state to focus on finishing his term and retire peacefully.

Wetangula who had met Ford Kenya aspirants from Bungoma said that President Kenyatta should dare to embrace politicking above tribes and community asking him to pave way for the Kenyans to choose the leader of their choice.

This comes barely hours after the Sagana 3 meeting whereby President Kenyatta openly declared his support for ODM leader Raila Odinga.

“Take the example of your predecessor the former president Mwai Kibaki, when he finished his term he let Kenyans decide on who to be their President and God gave you the grace to be and so you should also do that and let the people decide, ”he said.

Wetangula went further to say that the constitution does not grant Uhuru the power and the authority to impose a puppet on Kenyans telling him to stop using the public resource in support of his own choice.

“Mr. President stop using public resources to determine your successor because am sure the Sagana meeting spend public resources. If there is public resources to play public politics then access that money to everyone and let us fight, ”he said.

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Bumula member of parliament Moses Mwambu Mabonga has called out his competitors seeking to unseat him to stop telling lies on his legacy.

The Deputy President William Ruto ally while speaking at an event held at Cardinal Otunga Technical Training Institute told his critics to head to court should day have a complain on how he has managed funds meant for his constituents.

The lawmaker was disbursing a 30 million cheque to university, middle level colleges and high school students in his constituency.

He said that people are using propaganda seeking to be elected instead of them getting their facts right.

“If someone is saying that the money in this constituency cannot be accounted for and he is seeking to be elected as a leader, he should be wise enough to seek the intervention of the court as a good leader and for a person to win or lose a case they should have witnesses and evidence, if they have the two then what is holding them to do so,” he said

He went further to campaign for the United Democratic Party (UDA) saying that the hustler nation can relate to the problems that the common people have and people should instead assume the other parties and focus on supporting the deputy president William Samoei Ruto.

Mwambu went ahead to ask the president to finish his term peacefully and pave the way for the next president that will be elected by the people instead of imposing his choice to the people.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta does not have the interests of the people at heart and that’s why he is much focused to meet his own interests by imposing his president of choice to the people so that it can benefit him. We really fought away the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and we won’t allow an imposed president too, “he said

He also asked the residents to refuse being manipulated and used by the politicians to engage in rowdiness during this campaign season.

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Bungoma law courts Thursday February 10, 2022 resumed hearing of the cases that were presented in court in 2008 by the widows whose husbands were killed unlawfully and some faced enforced disappearance in Mt Elgon during the clashes that happened when the Kenya military was tackling the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF).

Speaking to the press at Bungoma law courts, Victor Kamau who is an advocate and the deputy director of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said that they were forced to stop the case for a year after the Kenya Defense Force made an application over the same.

He noted that this was the first hearing since it was stopped.

Advocate Victor Kamau. Photo/Tony Wafula

The widows are pleading with the government to hurry the case for them to get justice and compensation.

During the clashes, most people were affected, some lost their lives while some were forced to relocate to look for refuge in some different parts of Bungoma county.

Kamau noted that they have 18 widows on board whom they are helping to get justice for some were left with children who are still dependent on their parents.

Lilian Ndunya who is one of the affected widows noted that she is facing challenges in raising her family after her husband was butchered during the clashes leaving her behind as the breadwinner and with that, she needs the government to intervene and have her and the other affected women compensated.

“We have been here the better part of the day with hope of finally getting justice that we all deserve after our husbands were killed mercilessly but the way things are being dragged, we are just banking our hope on God maybe one day we shall get justice,” she said

Ndunya also asked the government to take charge in ensuring that the country has a peaceful election this year so that post-election violence that was experienced in 2007 is not repeated

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The independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has yet again missed out on the target of the anticipated second phase of voter’s registration following a low turnout.

Bungoma county election manager Solomon Mudanya while speaking to this writer noted that since the roll out of the second phase of voter’s registration on 17th January to 6th, the expected number to be registered in Bungoma county was 186,000 but they barely registered a quarter of the desired number which was 33,179 voters only.

Mudanya further expressed his dissatisfaction in the low turnout of the youths saying that the high number among the registered was the medium aged people as compared to the youths.

“I think apathy is high among the young people and should be the main reason that has led to low turnouts among the youths. They tend to not seeing the necessity in engaging in voting because they have been failed by the leaders that they chose before, however, they have the power and the number to elect the right leader who can represent them well but they instead choose to ignore,” he said

He said that Bungoma county was also affected by unnecessary transfers whereby the residents transferred their voter to other counties or different constituencies after being manipulated by the aspirants by giving them handouts.

The second phase of voter’s registration came about after the government failing to meet the target in the first phase hence giving another chance to the citizens who haven’t registered to do so.

Mudanya noted that there might be no other phase to conduct the exercise and so the registered ones might be used to represent those who didn’t register.

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Bungoma County Members of Parliament allied to Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have addressed claims that there is a division in the party following a deal with Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya parties.

ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi during his party’s NDC at Bomas of Kenya last week agreed to work together with DP Ruto’s UDA and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya ahead of the August polls.

Sirisia MP John Waluke who doubles up as UDA chairman in Bungoma County on Monday January 31, 2022 called out the UDA aspirants to stop speculations that there is an ongoing zoning in the party.

Earlier on, UDA aspirants in the county had complained that they are being harassed by the Bungoma Senator’s party.

They had appealed to DP Ruto to intervene and stop Ford Kenya from harassing them.

But speaking to the press in Bungoma town, Waluke said that Ford Kenya and ANC coming together to work with UDA should be celebrated since it is one way of uniting the Luhya nation and it means well for the people all over the country.

His sentiments were echoed by his Webuye West counterpart Dan Wanyama who said that the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) is an initiative that has looked at all odds and found that the only way to take this country to the next level is by first thinking about the common Mwananchi who is suffering day in day out, and that is the only reason that has brought the three parties together and not to divide as per the ongoing speculations.

Professor Charles Kibanani Ngome, the deputy governor of Bungoma County and also the senatorial aspirant said that he is certain that UDA under the deputy president William Ruto will form the next government and so people should invest in actualizing that instead of causing drifts in the party.

He went further to note that for someone to win a war, allies are needed and so he appreciates the fact that Wetangula decided to team up with UDA and all aspirants from Ford Kenya and UDA should soldier on and brace themselves for a friendly fire. 

This comes as UDA clarified that it has no coalition agreement with Mudavadi’s ANC and Wetangula’s Ford Kenya, dismissing reports of a power-sharing deal.

UDA National Chairman Johnson Muthama on Monday said there is no signed agreement between the political parties and that they are currently operating on the basis of friendship.

Addressing a press conference at his Red Office in Gigiri on Monday, the former Machakos senator told supporters to disregard media reports of a deal in the nascent Kenya Kwanza coalition.

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Bungoma deputy governor Professor Charles Kibanani Ngome has called out Senator Moses Wetangula to stop misleading Bungoma County residents in matters related to politics.

Addressing residents of Bungoma County, Prof Ngome said Wetang’ula is unable to choose a side to support but only keeps jumping from one side to another to fulfill his own interests.

He noted that in 2017 Wetang’ula supported Governor Wycliffe Wangamati and during the campaign, he was against senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka saying he was very corrupt and was not the right person for Bungoma.

Wetang’ula has declared his support for Speaker Lusaka in the race for Bungoma gubernatorial seat.

I Will No Longer Respect Lusaka and Wetangula" Fires Erupts In Bungoma As  Wangamati Declares War With Ford Kenya - KDRTV
Senator Moses Wetang’ula and Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka. Photo/Courtesy.

Lusaka was defeated by Wangamati in the 2017 polls.

Ngome said that Wetangula is doing things targeting at his own interests and not the interests of the people of Bungoma and he should therefore be cancelled completely.

“The big problem that is leading to Wetangula’s fallout with other Bungoma politicians is none other than money related and that is why Wetangula must go for Bungoma to change. If we were to follow what he wanted, this county could not have been where it is right now. The dual carriage and scholarship projects could have not taken place,” he said

He went further to call upon those who haven’t registered as voters to use the second opportunity that is starting today 17th to February 6th saying that it will give them an opportunity to choose the leaders of their choice.

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Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has been called out by Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) to stop using his power to humiliate every one who goes against his political wishes.

While addressing a press conference at the County Assembly of Bungoma on Friday January 14, 2022, Ndivisi ward MCA Martin Wanyonyi said that Wangamati had earlier on instructed goons to keep the county Deputy governor’s office closed denying him access because he had chosen a different political direction.

Wanyonyi reminded the county boss that every Kenyan has his/her own right to support candidates of their choice, under any political party.

He went further to note that the county is investing a lot of energy towards non-important issues instead of focusing on what’s important for the people of Bungoma.

He touched on the delayed salaries for the casual workers in the county saying that a lot of money was set aside for their salaries but up to now they are yet to be paid and they are still working for the county.

“I am asking the county government of Bungoma to tell us where the money went to. The casuals are not yet paid, instead they are using the money to move around in funerals and cause chaos,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by his counterpart Tony Barasa, Lwandanyi ward MCA who said that the county stake holders need to get their priorities right.

Barasa said that ksh.136 million was set aside to cater for NHIF cards for the county casual workers but still they are unable to get quality services from the health facilities for the money doesn’t reflect.

He therefore asked the stakeholders to come forward and explain where the money went to.

He also urged village elders and the youths to refuse being used by politicians during this campaign.

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Bungoma based businessman cum activist Zachariah Barasa on Monday January 10, 2022 announced that he had joined Deputy President William Ruto’s UDA camp.

The activist will be seeking to unseat the incumbent Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati in the August polls in a UDA ticket.

Flanked by Sirisia member of parliament John Waluke, his Webuye West counterpart Dan Wanyama and Mwambu Mabonga of Bumula at Bungoma Members club, Zachariah expressed his confidence in unseating Wangamati.

The DP Ruto’s lieutenants said that they were ready for the task ahead.

Zachariah criticised Wangamati, noting that Bungoma has not benefited from anything since devolution and now it is time for change and it is only through UDA.

Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati. Photo/FILES

“I have done a lot of consultations before coming to this decision. I have been engaging with the ordinary people of this county and they have advised me to vie on a UDA ticket because the manifesto of the party come in handy with my aspirations for the people of Bungoma,” he said.

Zachariah said that he was positive and confident about UDA, noting that it is the party that’s going to form the next government.

His sentiments were echoed by Waluke who said that Bungoma needs change for those who have been in positions that have not done anything major for the county.

Also present was Bungoma deputy governor Professor Charles Ngome who is also aspiring for the Bungoma senatorial seat which is currently held by the incumbent Moses Wetang’ula .

Ngome vowed to ditch his boss the governor and support any gubernatorial aspirant vying on the United Democratic Alliance [UDA] ticket.

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Parents have been asked to create a good relationship between them and their children in order to create a free platform where they can share their issues without any fear of being scolded during this festive season.

Speaking during a pad drive event at red cross offices in Bungoma, Tracy Mutala who is a youth advocate and a mentor to young people noted that the act of keeping the children close and mentoring them accordingly will see many of them feel wanted, listened to and also adapting good characters and avoiding the bad behaviors that have seen many of them participate in unrests in schools.

Miss Tracy asked the parents to use this holiday to bond with their children to allow an emotional presence between them and the children Moreso the teenagers saying that mental health issues is one of the reasons that contributes to school unrest.

She went ahead to ask the parents and guardians to caution their children on excessive exposure to social media during this holiday noting that they tend to be wasting their time, instead they should direct their energy to profitable events like games, tournaments and church competitions to consume their free time.

She called out the advocates of change and mentors to not only focus on empowering the girl child in the society but to empower both genders.

“It is very important to empower both genders because the more we empower one gender leaving out the other, the impact become null and void because one gender ends up to be more empowered and it will not be easy to push the other gender to be at the same level with the other,” she said.

She further called upon the society at large to take a responsibility in guiding the young people to adopt good behaviors so that the rising school unrests come to an end.

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Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala has threatened to dump the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) should the coalition associate itself with ODM leader Raila Odinga.

The vocal lawmaker told off the former Premier to cease from deceiving other leaders for his own benefits.

Speaking while addressing locals in Bungoma town during the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) people’s tour of the the Western region on Friday November 26, 2021, Malala urged other leaders to refuse the mind games played by Raila.

The first time senator noted that Raila’s political game ends up benefitting him and his people alone.

Malala’s rant comes days after Raila attended the Wiper party’s National Delegates Convention (NDC) at the Kasarani Gymnasium where Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka was endorsed as the party’s flag bearer in the coming 2022 general elections.

Malala noted that in 2017, Western Kenya leaders united to support NASA whose flag bearer was Raila, who then went into a political marriage with President Kenyatta through the famous March 2018 handshake without consulting his co-principals.

The lawmaker argued that Raila was given Kshs. 250 billion to build up his supporters, but he instead went ahead to use the money for his own benefit.

“I want Wetangula, Mudavadi and Kalonzo to learn a lesson from Raila after he went into agreement with President Kenyatta he forgot about NASA issues,” he said.

According to Malala, Raila used the alleged funds to build his Kisumu region, neglecting the western region.

He warned that OKA supporters would defect to other alliances should the coalition bring the Orange party on board.

“If you are going to unite independently as One Kenya Alliance (OKA) we are going to support you but if you are going to include ODM then we promise to decamp,” he said.

In presence was the Bungoma senator Moses Masika Wetangula who noted that people should have faith in One Kenya Alliance for it is the one going to form the next government in 2022.

Wetang’ula further noted that OKA will not betray Kenyans but instead bring equity, employment and change
among Kenyans.

Also present during the OKA tour of the Bungoma County was ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, his KANU counterpart Gideon Moi, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and former Presidential aspirant Cyrus Jirongo.

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Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna on Wednesday night shared two photos showing how a Huduma card will look like.

This came after Netizens and a section of media circulated another sample card that had an expiry date, with master card also being indicated on the card as a partner.

The circulation started shortly after Information, Communication and Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru announced that National Identity Cards will case being operational on December 2021.

CS Joe Mucheru. Photo/courtesy

CS Mucheru made the announcement while leaving the roll out of the Huduma card distribution.

Interior Cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i led a similar exercise in Kiambu County.

According to the two Cabinet secretaries, Kenyans who had registered for Huduma Namba last year will start receiving their cards on December 1, 2020.

The Huduma cards are set to replace the current National ID cards.

A fake sample of Huduma card that was circulating in the media. Photo/courtesy

With the image of a sample card doing rounds on social media, the government spokesperson had to come out and clarify.

However, the photo used on the sample card he shared caused an uproar, with Kenyans questioning why an image of a while woman had to be used.

Netizens had a problem with the woman on the sample card, who was identified as Martina Specimen.

However, the sample card shared by Oguna has no an expiry date, as compared to the one that had been circulated the media earlier.

Here are some of the reactions from Kenyans on the photo of a white woman used on the sample card.

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The construction of Masinde Muliro stadium in Bungoma county has gained Momentum following the more efforts put in by stakeholders in charge.

The county youth and sports committee led by chairman Luke Opwora expressed satisfaction towards the efforts put in by the contractors and the county government for the continued repairs of the stadium.

Opwora called out the county government to release the money allocated for the project since the committee had already passed the budget assigning the project Ksh 170 million for the financial year 2020-2021.

He assured the people of Bungoma that the project is already at 48% complete and by next year June the stadium might be complete.

The contractor in charge Benson Mbaisi also noted that through his and the team’s commitment they are working tirelessly to see the completion of the stadium a success.

“As much as we do face some small challenges on the way, we are working to make sure that come next year by June the stadium is done and set,” said Mbaisi

Building the stadium is one of the Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati’s flagship project that aims to grow sports talents across the county and to also change the face of Bungoma.

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Leaders from Western region led by  Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula have called on Cabinet Secretaries who have been criss-crossing the region to provide evidence in the waiver of debts owed to the state by ailing sugar factories.

Wetangula dared Devolution CS Eugine Wamalwa and his agriculture counterpart Peter Munya to produce the documented evidence with the relevant instruments to confirm that Nzoia Sugar company debts have been waived.

 “The people of western region are not fools, they know what it means by development and they have seen the bad states of the companies and being told that the debts have been waived without evidence is zero work,” Wetangula said.

His statement was echoed by Dan Wanyama, Webuye West member of the parliament who said that the cabinet has no mandate to waive a debt without the input of the national assembly.

“We are the people who allocate resources, I tried hard to include in the budget but when we approached Munya he declined to factor in Money for the ailing factories and so farmers know the truth. If indeed the president is serious, he should bring a paper in parliament to the committee of agriculture to deal with the issue,” he said

Wanyama said that the parliament must understand the period and how these debts accrued before the decision is made.

“It might be crude creditors who want to pay themselves or the money ending up going to the wrong people. Munya was evasive by talking about the treasury making paper work since he knew the process was not right but came in to give Wamalwa PR to get political mileage,” Wanyama added.

This comes a week after the recent visit of CS Wamalwa and Munya who assured the farmers that the debts that were holding the companies down had been written off to allow the leasing of the companies for it to go back to its normal operation.

They however came in solidarity with the most recent declaration by the president who had ordered that the cabinet secretaries are not allowed to move out of Nairobi after the surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.

Wetangula stated that their meetings have been suspended following the rampant increase of the cases in western region most specifically in Busia County.

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