‘Controversial’ as we all know, is often a euphemism for ‘interesting and intelligent’. Kevin Patrick Smith is credited with those words. Looking at the list of nominees for Bungoma County CEC , we couldn’t agree more. We unveil four of governor Wangamati’s key men: a quartet of some of Bungoma’s finest, who each by their own right can only be described as both interesting and intelligent…..
From the little we have come to know, so far, about Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati, the son of Patrick is astute at making controversy work for him. Like his embrace of the abrasive controversial figure in Kubende Wa’wekhomba in his campaign for governor. Or, once he became governor, his penchant for ‘accessible politician’ antics such as walking down the street for a bite at lunch time in the manner of akina yahe as sang by Gabriel Omollo in his 1972 hit lunchtime. Remember that song with the infamous line, “Wengine wanakunywa soda na keki huku roho yote kwa chapati na ng’ombe?” That one. Now that the governor is getting down to business, even his picks for County Executive Committee members are not without controversy.
For months, we’ve waited with anticipation. So when Wangamati’s government finally put forth its list of CEC nominees, public interest in the men and women chosen to deliver Wangamati’s vision was understandably high. While some scoured the list in search of familiar names in their relatives, friends, foes and former schoolmates; most marveled at the impressive CVs that had been splashed in public. Truth is the Bungoma governor HE Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has managed to assemble an impressive array of Bungoma\’s intelligentsia and professionals .
Here To Open Closets & Get People Excited
Naturally though, beyond what is in public domain, we are excited by the shadows more than the characters themselves in the manner that we are tantalized by the proverbial woman who stands behind every successful man. When we heard the news over the radio my khuku, the quick tongued Nakhatama, seeking to be explained to the news, was quick to clarify that she had no iota of interest in their academic credentials. After all, she hadn\’t heard the name of any of her grandchildren.
” Ako kakabwe,” Nakhatama quipped.
The one who had paid school fees for any of these fellas and ladies nominated to serve as the new Bungoma County CEC is the one who’d want to know how well they had done in school. And therefore , by that account all she wanted to know was: whose children they were; where they came from, and whom they are married to; what they had done for the community before their appointments…. that kind of thing.
Shocking it maybe, but I get her. First, I understand Nakhatama simply because county executives are political appointees. Therefore, digging beyond what is presented in public is about knowing who the king listens to. Who Omwami, seeks counsel from in protecting his kumukasa. The kind of acumen needed to rule is one thing. Education is another.
Nakhatama is right because we village folks will be looking out to see how the impressive CVs will translate to service delivery. We will be listening to these CEC to hear them interpret complex information and excite us about Wanagmati\’s plans for the people, in the way that only a politician can.
Oh, yes! Getting us excited should be of concern to the Wangamati government. Twenty first century leadership software captured in the principles of New Public management and brought to life in the 2010 Kenyan constitution, front a participatory approach to governance as the tonic that delivers public goods like health to the governed.
Sibuno
But then, we also know, even in a perfectly polygamous home, not all wives are equal. As not all – by way of provision of labor through bearing children or their swift hand with a jembe- contribute equally to the making of likunda. The crux of the matter is this: some CECs are more equal than others. What we have here is the confidence that if these four Bungoma County CEC nominees deliver, WW’s re-election may just be a walk in the park. Their portfolios encompass the entirety of what is wrong, but should be right, with Bungoma county.
Sleep on the job or get afflicted by the malaise, Sibunogenic, that afflicted the previous administration, they should be reminded that: “the stick that chased the first wife is still under the bed”
Wangamati’s key men: Dr Antony Walela, Bungoma County CEC Health and Sanitation
Dr. Walela is a pharmacist by training, politician at heart and philanthropist by deed. The former AFC Leopards treasurer vied in Bumula constituency in 2002 and 2007 but was not successful, losing both times to Hon. Wakoli Bifwoli. Probably testament to his mien, he tried his luck in Dagoretti North constituency in 2013 but still lost to Hon Simba Arati. We have to remember that a CEC position is a political seat, lest we be mistaken that the good doctor has surrendered his political ambition. Not to speak for him, but it might be interesting in Bumula come 2022.
Walela is an astute businessman. A fact attested to by the CV he presented to the County Public Service Board, CPSB. By way of this CV, we learn that Dakatri has never been in formal employment- save for working as a board member on various boards. By extension therefore, this appointment could be the most powerful position Daktari has ever held yet.
This long life in Jua Kali must have shaped his outlook to life as Daktari is a friendly, amiable character. A go-to kind of fella. But his pleasant ways shouldn’t be mistaken for a weakness. The following urban legend sums up Walela: There was this reveler whose nose for free tipple had led him to Walela’s pocket. This was at a bar in Walela’s his home town of Kabula, so the story goes.
This stranger, having had his fill, passed on the bill, trying to take advantage of the fact that Dr. Walela was then in the race for MP Bumula: Kapara ali kamunyolele khulusanja. Good plan that was, only that, Walela is not one to be held at ransom. After a through dress down, then Bumula MP candidate, Dr. Antony Walela, declined to pay the bill and walked away.
This vein of emotional intelligence and street smarts is manifest in Walela’s online persona in Bungoma County based Facebook groups like Bungoma Digest or County411. You’ll not fail to notice how like a skilled matador, with barely a word, Walela slays online bullies leaving the other party rolling in the mud and whilst walking out of the arena unsoiled. It’s not that this man who sits on the board of various schools is afraid of a fight. No, he’s just too suave for that. Too smooth even for suits.
No Suits
If I was anywhere in the world and was to buy Daktari a gift, I know just what to get to have him beaming with joy. I would pick the best Nelson Mandela shirt, Khaki trousers and a neat pair of sports shoes. A stripped polo shirt with a collar should also go down well with Antony as he’s a no suits, no neckties kind of guy.
For all the years in public life, Walela should have worn an official suit only once, during the fiery vetting after he was named the nominee Bungoma County CEC Health and Sanitation. When pictures of Daktari in a presidential blue suit and color matched necktie were splashed allover the news (the storm surrounding Walela’s nomination necessitated this attention from the media), I was reminded of myself in the city for the first time in my life .
A time when my father couldn\’t let me head off to college , not until I could demonstrate that I could find my way to the tall green building in town, Afya Center, from whichever direction
That’s how awkward he looked in a suit. But this ‘rough on the edges’ look is not to take anything away from WW’s pick for Bungoma County CEC Health and Sanitation. This is because just as it is hard to miss his car, Walela is a simple and practical man. Just like his green chariot, Daktari is designed to do what he is meant to do. For the car, that’s moving from point A to point B. For Waziri Dr. Walela, it will be to breath life into Bungoma’s ailing health sector and create an oasis, even in the storm of a national health crisis.
Bukusu Number One?
When Walela believes in your cause, lucky you, you are sorted. In fact, you can go on holiday. Case in point? I have known the doctor as an ardent member and fierce defender of the lion party Ford Kenya. Dare not share a table with Dr. Walela and talk ill of Hon Moses Wetang’ula. At the very least, he will walk away. But Walela being Walela, he will stop you in your tracks and then some more. Because he believes in Senator Wetang’ula.
But that’s not the reason why we love Daktari. Walela is a darling as he believes in Buy Bukusu Build Bukusu. So much so that It should be interesting to see how Walela survives in the high capitals such as Geneva and Washington, that he is likely to visit as Bungoma County CEC – Health and Sanitation on official duty. For it is said in the streets that Dr. Walela is more than ready to endure heavy traffic from Nairobi CBD to Kawangware, for a bite at his favorite Bukusu owned eating place. He does this with a deep sense of pride.
Philanthropy
Antony is a a catholic faithful complete with the St Jude Thadeus name . Catholics will know of the magnanimity of this saint world over. We wouldn’t describe Walela, a widower, as anything close to the Hallelujah- Amen kind of guys. I guess he only goes to church on Christmas day but in this particular way he lives a christ-like life. I talk of his charitable ways.
I remember one time he single handed identified a needy but bright girl who almost missed a chance to join Moi Girls High school Eldoret. Antony put up a Facebook post and managed to raise her form one school fees, shopping and pocket money. He then only asked female members of the group to come help him shop for the girl.
Beyond that, Walela has also been donating drugs and bus fare to genuine needy cases that seek his helping hand at his wholesale pharmacy in Bungoma town. In typical Walela fashion, his charity is not up for abuse. It is not uncommon for Walela to demand for national IDs or voters cards of those seeking help just to make sure these beneficiaries participate in determining their future by earning the right to participate in elections.
Walela is also a mentor and father. He supports Bukusu music passionately. I remember him paying music bands to perform in Mulembe nights organized in Nairobi. By all accounts, the most prominent beneficiary of his mentorship has to be the prodigious Bukusu talent Steve Kay who he introduced to the management of Club Samba Nairobi to help nurture talent. He has also employed tens of youths in his pharmacies in Nairobi and Bungoma and helped built their capacities.
Wangamati’s key men: Collins Mukhongo, Bungoma County CEC Roads, Infrastructure & Public Works
Those who schooled with Engineer, both at Kibabii High School and the University of Nairobi, can’t help themselves raving on about his sharp mind. A gift that’s manifest in the KRA IT Manager’s exemplary career path. I call it a gift as it must be a genetic thing because Collins comes from a stock of academic giants. In fact one of his younger sisters was the best girl in KCSE half a decade thereabouts ago. The girl went to study medicine at The University of Nairobi. Brilliance is the Mukhongos’ other name!
Mukhongo Collins is a bakoki and bosom buddy of WW, so much so that talk in Bungoma watering holes is that in order to bring down WW, one must capture Collins. This bar talk carries some weight as Mukhongo Collins was the head of the WW campaign secretariat. Real politics is war, with campaigns akin to warfare. If WW’s campaign tactics were a formation, Collins was their sniper, and more. He knew all the enemy’s tactics and plotted how to undo them.
All that, and and still, he was the one trusted enough to remain at base planning and doing all the heavy lifting work that’s seldom appreciated. It is Mukhongo Collins who took care of all logistics from vehicle maintenance to compiling campaign schedules. It being that Wycliffe Wangamati was a novice in hard politics, Mukhongo managed WW the way an agency manages a celebrity. As legend goes, he is what Gustavo Gaviria, was to Pablo Escobar.
For a man, the puppeteer behind the curtains at the show, whose baby looks have refused to betray his calculating mind, Mukhongo Collins is wreathed in smiles . He probably does so (smiles) to disarm, as in the deceptive world of hard politics, a set smile is a potent weapon. Especially now that he’s taken on the lonely duty of not only delivering in his portfolio as the nominee Bungoma County CEC of roads, infrastructure and public works; but also to protect WW’s power. Power that he’s worked so hard for.
Because lets face it. Here is a man who has risen, horned his mien, in the cutthroat world of working at the Kenya Revenue Authority. A man, now of sufficient means. A man whose bow-tie fetish talks to class and an inkling of flamboyance that will not settle for less. Possibly, also, a touch of narcissism in the manner of Charles Njonjo. A man, dare I say, the patriarch, of a family that on its breast pocket has worn with pride every medal society awards merit. Except for one. Political power.
But in all these, Mukhongo Collins is at home when dressed in his blue jeans, unfinished t shirt and open shoes. He enjoys his drink and good Bukusu music. Drives a clean, black Prado Land Cruiser. Collins son of Mukhongo often shades the suffocation of the bow tie to shake a leg, not quite with the prowess of H.E. Hon. Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, but a good account nonetheless. Now who’s that who was saying that Collins seldom lets his emotions show?
Wangamati’s key men: Mathews Makanda, Bungoma County CEC Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries & Cooperative Development
Mathews Makanda hails from Lutonyi village in Kimilili constituency. He is omubukusu we wa Amtalla. Our brothers whose ancestors migrated from the lower side to the settlement schemes. Those ones who are seen as elites of the Bukusu nation. To his friends, he is simply Matayo. His alter-ego, the one with an unforgiving thirst to sit at the high table, is nabutundu. The abomasum.
In our books, Nabutundu is nothing but clever rhetoric from a relentless politician. A masterstroke of a slogan that owns the cry of the downtrodden, providing him with the perfect tonic. The missing strut to complete the bridge built on his rightful, though somewhat curious, claim to Bayemba royalty — through the Hon Wakoli Bifwoli and Pascari Nabwana lineage — in his grand march to Bayemba kingship.
Nabutundu
While Kubende Wa’Wekhomba was slaying for the WW campaign live live, mundu khu mundu, Mathews needed no crowd to deliver fatal blows at the Lusaka camp. Just by tapping away on his phone, he created an audience when he needed one. Moreover, unlike the Wangamati campaign’s communications team ,whose Facebook posts where gentler and therefore somewhat easy to push to the back burner of thoughts, a Facebook update from Makanda was/is unforgettable once read.
It’s kinda like the first time watching a blue movie. It never leaves you. His words etch themselves in your memory, getting a life of their own as they age. The mutterings then mutate into a devil, tattooing themselves and like some retrovirus, integrating their RNA into the DNA of your conscience, such that your perception remains forever skewed. Matayo has that gift of rhetoric, both in English and Lubukusu . If in doubt, kindly be reminded that this is the man with “Kukwoyo kwe lisa” fame; a daiper filler that was said in reference to the \’dark heart\’ of a certain leader. We argue that the phrase Nabutundu is no less potent. We will explain.
Traditionally, in any Bukusu ceremony where an animal is slaughtered for whatever purpose, the offal are a preserve for the uninvited, unwanted, unwashed and/or unfashionable guests. Brilliantly in tune with such rich imagery, Makanda Mathews would persistently hit at the previous Bungoma County administration for sidelining his home area of Kimilili. In Lusaka’s government, Kimilili had no appointments of note, CEC or otherwise. Surely, he posed: ” aren’t the people of Kimilili not even worthy of Nabutundu? And so went on the Nabutundu dirge whose soloist was none other than Matayo.
The message of the Nabutundu dirge did percolate deep into the neck of the woods of Kimililli. So much so that it irked the competition. Who are rumored to have been driven up the wall by Matayo’s incessant bashing that walirudisha mkono (or it was made to look like they did) . The aftermath of all this tête-à-tête was a broken arm and a smashed car windscreen. Save for Kubende Wa’Wekhomba, there is probably no other WW campaigner who suffered both loss and pain like Matayo. He did take a bullet on behalf of Omwami. This nomination, at the very least, is a gentle gesture of appreciation by WW.
Can’t Put Him Down
All the same, this emboko , born during famine has earned his stripes. He has infallibly put his neck out for both the party and the governor’s campaign. I can’t count the number of times the CID have summoned Matayo to record statements following his characteristically brutally honest posts on Facebook criticizing the jubilee government and the Lusaka administration.
While it is true that power does strange things to people, all the same, people of Bungoma ,don’t expect this one to quiet away. This one will not be mellowed by air-conditioned offices or soft rides in tinted 4×4’s along bumpy village roads. It is just not in Makanda Mathews nature to shy away from doing him. A story is told of a 2012 Ford Kenya youth leaders meeting where the young lions had been invited to a strategy meet with the then FK legislators.
When it got to the point of sealing the night, every youth leader present hoping to impress put their best feet forward and ordered for soda except for Matayo. Without batting an eyelid, Matayo comfortably asked for his favorite beer. When the swearing cold Balozi was placed before him, bereft of its bottle top thanks to the sift actions of the beautiful waitress, he poured some onto the accompanying drinking glass and without a care in the world took a swig. You could have seen the faces of the other young lions! They, the youth leaders, had somewhat came to the conclusion that ‘real drinks’ were a preserve for the legislators.
Unfortunately, this extroverted, assertive streak in Matayo can at times come across as braggadocio. Like that long Facebook post reiterating his credentials, ostensibly made to thank the governor for nominating him to be the new Bungoma County CEC -Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries & Cooperative Development. While most came out to congratulate and wish him well, critics saw this as an act as egocentric.
Ego. Matayo has an interesting one. On one hand, he can be overly serene about issues. Consider how he hit the ground running, campaigning hard for for all Ford Kenya candidates including Hon. Suleiman Murunga who had trounced him in the Ford Kenya Kimilili member of parliament nominations in the run up to the 2017 general election. Yet, on the other hand, Matayo doesn’t shy away from putting people in their place. Unlike Walela, he goes eyeball to eyeball on with cyber bullies, and like Walela, he often leaves them chewing dust. Wakirusha anarusha. “Barema; asonjola” Blow for blow.
But we also have to postulate that all this might be good-natured for him, and so the public shouldn’t be too quick to judge. Often after such a public spat, it seems unimaginable to find Matayo sharing a drink with his aggressor the following day. On this account, it is safe to say that he doesn’t keep grudges.
Nonetheless, this new appointment comes as a big challenge to Matayo. It will be interesting to see how he will handle criticism. The question remains: Will Matayo , the CEC, relegate all rebuttals to the governor’s communication department, or will continue to treat us to his theater of deadly one-liners?
Wangamati’s key men: Gregory Naulikha, Bungoma County CEC Trade, Energy & Industrialization
If you have not met Gregory Naulikha then you have not met a tall Bukusu. You know the kind of guys commonly referred to as mrefu? Well, that is Gregory. Greg, as his kin and kindred call him, stands at more that 6Ft . A beef of a man. A well built giant of a being. He is dark skinned, with popping white eyes. From a distance, intimidating, almost frightening. The kind of guy any lad would kill for to have as a drinking mate during those campus nights when the drink would be too much leading to unsavory situations requiring “Comrade Power” With Naulikha Greg as your wing-man, even the stockiest of nightclub bouncers would think twice before throwing you guys out.
But when you talk to the man from Tongaren all that is washed away as he’s a gentle giant. Measured in speech, with a knack for making everyone else at ease. In another life, Greg would have been an MC of the Big Ted realm. At worse, a standup comedian. Somehow something tells me that of the gang discussed here, Collins Mukhongo would enjoy hanging out with Greg the most.
I was once a fly on the wall at a high-powered event where Naulikha Gregory ran the show. On hindsight, I like to think of that day as one in which I was lucky to experience the Greg Show.
It must have been sometime in 2012, Naulikha was working as an education advisor with CIDA. Part of his JD was running school feeding programs in the country. This day he was leading a delegation to meet some farmers who were selling their produce to World Food Program in in Uasin Gishu county. He was a big shot. Like I had mentioned earlier, the delegation was high powered riding in red plate armored vehicles.
You know those vehicles with appear to be smoking a pipe and have the face of a bull and processes that look like the horn of rhino? That is what I am talking about. While each of Naulikha’s compatriots in the delegation struggled to showcase to ‘guys from headquarters’ how well they could speak English, Naulikha chose to speak in fluent swahili.
His speech made everyone at ease. What’s more? His yearning for an opportunity to work with his people was palpable in his voice. He referred to himself as Mshamba and when his colleagues chose to fiddle with their phones and Ipads during the interludes, Naulikha spent his day talking to the village women.
After the function, the group served its visitors with boiled maize, It is said that Gregory dived right in, picking a cob and munching away as everyone else was still looking for water and hand sanitizer. This non assuming nature should do the WW administration lots of good. Naulikha, he who knows how to sit on his emotions, could just be the tree whose shade will allow the other Bungoma County CEC nominees refuge under his care.
This article on Wangamati’s key men was heavy on the nominee Bungoma County CEC – Health and Sanitation for two unrelated reasons. The first one , which is of public interest, is that the experience through out the country with the first five years of devolution has been that the health docket takes the lion’s share of devolved funds. This includes conditional grants from the central government; programatic support such as in immunization, the medical equipment service program and free maternity program. In addition, there’s to what the people directly allocate to the health departments via CIDP and the county assembly. In Bungoma conservative estimates place this at 3 billion shillings per financial year. The second reason for the spotlight to shine brightest on the health CEC nomineee is for the simple reason that Dr. Walela has been in public life the longest of all the nominess. By extension therefore, there is a record to work with