Corridors Of Power | The Star, Kenya

Is a top official of Raila Odinga’s ODM party a marked man? A source has whispered to Corridors that it is only a matter of time before the vocal man is kicked out of the party after it emerged that he has insatiable appetite for party money. The source said the man has been billing the party even for his personal expenses including traveling to the village. The situation has drawn the attention of other party stakeholders who are already said to have decided that the official should be replaced with at least someone with financial muscles who doesn’t really on the party to foot his bills.

*****

The job of a nominee for a senior position in the judiciary could be on the line. Word in the corridors of Parliament and his previous working station is that he influenced the award of a tender that had initially been awarded to a Turkish firm. Because of kickbacks — a down payment of Sh100 million had already been paid — the former official directed a procurement team which was meeting at a hotel in Machakos county to award the tender to a South African firm. The man could not have his way as the chairman of the state institution ensured the deal was awarded to the South African company*****.

*****

The foreigners cooling their heels at Industrial Area Remand Prison are a happy and powerful lot. They have become the envy of their Kenyan colleagues. Suspects from China, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rwanda and South Korea rarely eat prison food. They enjoy special meals supplied by hotels or specifically cooked and brought in from their homes. The remand cells are so cosy they prefer to conduct their cases from there even when courts grant them cash bail. One of the inmates from Asia charged with fraud is as comfortable as a man at home. He receives VIP treatment; has a phone, sleeps on a warm and thick mattress and clean beddings and is served food like a king. Contrast with Kenyans who sleep on the floor. Now Kenyans are demanding that the prison authorities be investigated for the shameful injustice of the justice system.

*****

Two city MCAs who are members of a powerful committee are reportedly targeting several staff at the county assembly to be fired by the County Assembly Service Board. It’s reported that several assembly staff are living in fear because the MCAs who wield a lot of influence have told them that they will deal with them soon. It is said the targeted staff are perceived to be allied to suspended Clerk Jacob Ngwele.

Click here for the latest political news