Inside Nyamira county gubernatorial politics – Weekly Citizen

Political leaders and residents of Bogetutu are to blame for rampant corruption and bad governance at Nyamira county under the watch of the area governor John Nyagarama.

North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko said that the Abagetutu clan which has more numbers compared to other clans in the county erred by fielding many candidates in the last general elections for the seat of the governor thus paving way for Nyagarama whom he termed as “super conman” to retain the seat.

Nyamoko

Addressing members of the public at Magombo market in Kitutu Masaba constituency last week, without mincing any words, Nyamoko boldly told the residents of Bogetutu that they should be the last people to complain about the bad leadership of Nyagarama and should stop shedding crocodile tears about the governor’s mediocre leadership perpetuated by his government.

Out of the 15 aspirants who took part in the contest for the seat of the governor in 2017, the Bogetutu clan fielded over seven candidates of which Nyagarama who comes from the Bogirango clan took advantage of to retain the seat on a silver platter despite the court battles that went up to the Supreme Court.

The legislator said that the aspirants from Bogetutu clan also started fighting amongst themselves instead of focusing on one common enemy is Nyagarama, thus dividing their votes which could have been cast in one basket.

Nyamoko who is former Nyamira county assembly speaker noted that for the seven years Nyagarama has been in leadership, nothing tangible can be associated with him as he has not done any flagship project in the county apart from using the position to allegedly steal from the county public coffers in diversifying his economic empire.

He said that Nyagarama’s leadership has divided the county along clans and thus, the next governor must be a person who can unite all the clans and bring order in terms of development and harmony.

Nyamoko made the remarks following an intensive campaign trail by aspirants who want to succeed Nyagarama after his retirement.

He cautioned that should the people of Bogetutu repeat the same mistake like in 2013 and 2017, then they should be prepared for a big shock as the seat of the governor could still remain in Bogirango.

Governor John Nyangarama

Due to the poor performance of Nyagarama, it is the opinion of many that the seat of the governor should go to Bogetutu so as to test their leadership in comparison to Nyagarama’s leadership.

Those who have declared their candidature for the seat of the governor from Bogetututu clan come 2022 include Walter Nyambati who came second to Nyagarama in 2017, Mwancha Okioma, a Dr Komenda, Charles Mochama, Timothy Bosire and Fred Machana.

From Bogirango clan, the Borabu MP Ben Momanyi leads the list followed by former MP Joseph Kangoi, Walter Chanua, Ereneo Nyakiba, Dennis Abincha and Dr James Gesami.

According to area voters, this time round they want to go for a person who can manage their resources well contrary to what Nyagarama is doing.

For those who served as MPs like Momanyi, Walter Nyambati, Timothy Bosire, Joseph Kiangoi and James Gesami, they will be compelled to display their report cards openly on their performance when they were in office.

MP Ben Momanyi

Nyambati who contested the gubernatorial seat on a Jubilee ticket has been capitalising on church functions and funeral forums in wooing the voters on his side.

He has come out dismissing the clan politics which he said was purely to blame for the underdevelopment in the county.

“If I will be elected as the governor in the next general elections, I will bring on board competent officers who would make our county to prosper but not nonperformers who are brought in on clan basis like what Nyagarama is doing,” he told this writer.

Momanyi who is serving his second term cannot be underrated. His oratory skills and network connections with the youths put him ahead of his other competitors.

Momanyi is also a darling to many people particularly when it comes to giving out handouts.

Okioma and Kiangoi have changed their tactics of meeting the voters by moving from one village to another on foot.

Okioma who is also contesting the seat for the second time, has dismissed rumours doing the rounds that he was preparing to be a running mate of one of the contestants.

“Let it be known to the people of Nyamira county that I’m a serious candidate and not a project of anyone as my political detractors are propagating,” he said.

In terms of development Gesami has a clean development record in comparison to his competitors.

Should the voters want a practical development leader, then Gesami is the man.

According to the investigations carried by Weekly Citizen, money and clan factor could greatly determine the next governor of Nyamira county