Governor Nyong’o apologises to Odinga family as task force insists Jaramogi is a defaulter :: Kenya

Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has apologised to the family of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga following the listing of Jaramogi as a land rate defaulter.

Prof Nyong’o said a list of 581 people published in the dailies last Friday showing they owed the county government close to Sh12 billion, was a draft report not meant for public view.

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According to the list, the country’s founding vice-president owed Sh7,774,099 for a parcel of land in Kisumu town.

The report, which was compiled by a county lands task-force appointed by Nyong’o, and signed by County Secretary Olang’o Onudi, also listed Oburu Oginga, Jaramogi’s eldest son, as owing the county government Sh295,743.

But even as Nyong’o dismissed the report, the task-force members insisted the list was authentic, saying the next step would be a verification exercise aimed at finding the causes for the rate defaults.

“Most of the names you see on the list have recurred in previous reports dating back to the 1970s and we want to know why,” said board member Kennedy Hongo (pictured).

Dr Hongo said they were an independent entity formed to sort out land issues in the county, and that nobody would be spared in its final recommendation.

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Nyong’o, however, distanced his administration from the report, terming it a draft piece that was erroneously sent for publication.

The governor claimed a final report had absolved the Jaramogi family after relatives presented relevant documentation that cleared up the ‘errors’.

Nyong’o, who has also been listed as owing the county government Sh1,895,687 for a plot in Maseno, termed the report an embarrassment.

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Hongo said Nyong’o, in his campaign manifesto, had pledged to resolve the underlying land issues in the county to facilitate development, and that the task-force was part of the process of identifying the root cause of land problems.

The task-force urged those whose names appeared in the list to come forward and explain their cases, or risk losing ownership of the parcels in question.