Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has questioned the loyalty of Rebecca Miano, the Cabinet Secretary for CS Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry to her boss President William Ruto.
In his assertion, Mutahi accuses the CS of using her position in the cabinet to outshine her master by not amplifying Ruto’s successes and instead focusing on growing her image. “Why do Cabinet Ministers sell themselves instead of selling Ruto’s Agenda? This is a question for Rebecca Miano.” He paused on X.
Mutahi alludes that Cabinet Secretaries should focus on promoting Ruto’s agenda instead of self-promotion and that the presidency values loyalty and program promotion, “REMEMBER: The Presidency is a VERY jealous Institution. Sell his PROGRAMMES.” He said in a warning to CS Miano.
Kenya Kwanza administration has always adopted the one government approach where all CSs are expected to work on a close committed partnership with focus on realizing the main goals they sold to Kenyans dubbed The Plan. In this regard, all the state officials are expected to sell the shared vision of the government. The CSs given their high positions are mandated to be marketers of government policies and the President’s vision – not their own.
This is coming at a time when the president is facing harsh criticism from the public and opposition given the high cost of living and taxation burden that has squeezed the pockets of many Kenyans.
President Ruto who spent most time last year traversing the world, has significantly cut down on his foreign travels to travel the country to launch development projects in a bid to showcase the successes of his government.
Its unclear the roots of Mutahi’s accusations and his intentions. Before she was moved to her current position, Miano had ranked lowly in surveys while serving as the Cabinet Secretary of Investment, Trade and Industry, however, president Ruto upgraded her to the lucrative trade position.
Meanwhile, the CS is currently battling a suit in court where she’s been accused of procurement and financial irregularities during her tenure as the CEO of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (Kengen).
In an ouster petition filed at the High Court, a lobby group has accused the CS of spending Ksh94 billion of taxpayers’ money on white elephant power generation projects.
She is further accused of contributing to recent frequent national blackouts by commissioning unusable high voltage transmission lines and commissioning feasibility studies on two new power plants that never worked.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has also been cited as an interested party in the case whose mention is slated for January 29, 2024 before Justice Lawrence Mugambi.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has revived its bid to repossess contested land in Langata, Nairobi, on which President William Ruto’s Weston Hotel sits.
KCAA, in its fresh application filed before Environment and Lands Court, accused Weston Hotel of sitting on temporary orders which halted the hearing of the case for two years without prosecuting its appeal.
The authority’s lawyer Stephen Ligunya noted that Justice Bernard Eboso in 2021 granted Weston a one-year grace period to pursue an appeal on whether the Lands court had powers to hear the case.
However, Ligunya said that Weston has not shown any interest in pursuing the appeal, even after lapse of the grace period.
According to the lawyer, the orders should be set aside to allow KCAA to pursue Weston.
In 2021, Weston’s lawyers moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge an order that the case ought to be heard in full.
The case had been scheduled to commence on July 12, 2021, after Justice Eboso dismissed Weston’s argument that the judge had no powers to hear the case. In June 2020, the hotel urged the judge to dismiss KCAA’s case insisting that the court had no powers to hear it.
Weston’s lawyers argued that KCAA had defied National Land Commission’s (NLC) orders to conclude negotiations on the land after which Dr Ruto would compensate the State agency.
Weston argued that the only way KCAA would approach the court was through an appeal and not a fresh case.
While disagreeing with the hotel, Justice Eboso in March 2021 said the court had powers to hear cases emanating from the commission. The judge ordered parties to prepare to give their submissions on July 12, the same year.
In the Environment and Land Court, Weston claimed that the case filed by KCAA was politically instigated.
In its appeal, the hotel asked the court to overturn a ruling by the Environment and Lands Court that it has powers to hear disputes emanating from the NLC.
Before the Environment and Land Court, Weston sought to conclude negotiations that would determine how much it would pay KCAA for the 0.773 hectare land lying opposite Wilson Airport.
Citing NLC’s orders, the hotel had asked the court to strike out the case “because KCAA has not exhausted the remedies offered by the commission.”
However, KCAA claimed Weston colluded with two firms – Monene Investment and Priority – to grab its land.
KCAA lawyers Otiende Amolo and Ligunya argued that Priority could not have continued to deal with the same property after its legal interest in the land ceased.
While dismissing Weston’s application to throw out the case before it is heard on merit, Justice Eboso ruled that the authority had a legitimate claim before the court, which ought to be heard in full.
Weston argued that the judge erred and fully determined the case even before it was heard.
At the same time, the hotel accuses the judge of framing his own issues and discarding its argument in the ruling.
The raging multi-billion-shilling oil saga that has sucked in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, some marketers and a little-known importer took a dramatic twist after a senator sensationally claimed that Sh17 billion was withdrawn from government coffers.
The self-proclaimed people’s watchman, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah alleged that the Sh17 billion used to finance the purchase of the controversial oil had been sneaked into the 2022/23 budget by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and later withdrawn.
He said the genesis of the controversy started in the 2022/2023 financial year when Parliament approved Sh5.9 billion for the ministry out of which Sh5.2 billion was to be raised through the ministry’s operations.
The balance of Sh732 million was to be sourced from the Consolidated Fund as provided for in 2022/2023 estimates of recurrent expenditure for the year ending 30th June 2023.
“However, in total, some Sh42,965,290,402 instead of the Sh732 million was unconstitutionally withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the authority of Parliament and spent on subsidies to private financial enterprises. The beneficiary enterprises are not named.”
Omtatah further claimed that Parliament then passed an inflated budget of over Sh43 billion, which was an increase of 5,836pc contrary to Article 223 of the Constitution which limits such deviation to a maximum of 10 per cent of the sum appropriated per programme.
“The money was on unnamed and mysterious subsidies to private financial enterprises as per the statement of actual revenue gazetted on October 6, 2022, by the then Treasury CS Ukur Yattani through Gazette Notice No. 12580,” he added.
The ministry withdrew Sh16.6 billion in September 2022 for the unnamed subsidies to private financial enterprises.
“As per the statement of actual revenue and net exchequer Issues gazetted by Prof Njuguna Ndungu, the CS Treasury, vide Gazette Notice No. 9734 of July 13, 2023, the ministry withdrew from Consolidated Fund some Sh17, 224,718,632 at the closure of the 2022/2023 financial year for subsidies to private financial enterprises,” the senator alleged.
In a signed press statement backed with extracts from various gazette notices and supplementary estimates for the recurrent expenditure, Omtatah claimed this is the money that was used to buy the contested oil which is now being purified.
He challenged Energy and Petroleum CS Davis Chirchir to make full disclosure about how the Sh17 billion withdrawn by his ministry from from consolidated fund had been used.
The senator claimed that an oil importer involved in the Sh17 billion oil saga was a private financial enterprise that was funded by the ministry.
The matter came to the fore when a little-known businesswoman, Anne Njeri claimed she had been abducted and her life threatened when she went to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to report that the cargo had been hijacked.
Critics have since fingers at her, saying she had been used as a front in the deal and insisting that although she had been in the oil import business for many years, she had no business dealings with the ministry.
According to her handlers, Njeri first met Chirchir last week so as to secure the 100,000 metric tonnes of diesel.
Njeri claimed the CS told her the oil belonged to Galana Energies, one of the firms involved in the controversial Government-to-government oil importation deal, and advised her to go to the DCI headquarters.
It is then she claims was seized by unknown people and held for 120 hours only to be released at night in Nyayo Embakasi estate in Nairobi.
She is now expected to appear before the National Assembly Committee on Energy on November 22 to shed more light on the deal. Njeri says she will attend and promised to expose the people who allegedly seized her shipload of oil.
When the saga erupted, Chirchir admitted that he had met the businesswoman but disputed her claim to the oil, explaining that her company was not among the oil marketers licensed by the government.
On Thursday evening, Chirchir had explained how the government had to resort to drastic measures to save the country from an existential threat to its security on account of lack of dollars and outstanding subsidies owed to oil marketers.
According to the CS, the situation then was so bad that there had been incidences of petroleum shortages at retail stations in some parts of the country.
At one time Chirchir had warned that “the country teetered on the brink of shutdown due to a national-wide petroleum shortage.”
This is what drove the government into putting out a tender on March 1 this year inviting international oil marketers to bid for the supply of petroleum products on a 180-day deferred payment.
He explained that the G to G oil deal had saved the country from the crisis that was initially created by 130 oil marketing companies as they moved from bank to bank in search of dollars to finance their purchases.
Following allegations by Opposition leader Raila Odinga that the deal was a sham, the oil marketers involved put up a paid-up newspaper advert to state that before the deal with Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates-state-owned companies, there had been an artificial shortage of dollars.
This scarcity has since been cured because oil marketers no longer need to look for the foreign currency since they paid for all their products using the shilling.
“Given the requirement for prompt payment for fuel in dollars, a situation emerged where all the (oil marketing companies were chasing very scarce dollars, creating a speculative bubble in the forex markets.”
President William Ruto also waded into the saga, defending the G-to-G deal as aboveboard, transparent and innovative, adding it made a great difference.
“If we hadn’t been innovative, we would have driven the country to more subsidies and confusion,” he said.
Below is Okiya Omtatah’s dossier of the controversial oil deal to the press.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://cms.kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sen.-Omtatahs-take-on-the-Kshs.-17-Billion-Fuel-Import.pdf” title=”Sen. Omtatah’s take on the Kshs. 17 Billion Fuel Import”]
President William Ruto has expanded the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary to include the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, headed by Musalia Mudavadi.
This after the President reorganised the Cabinet Wednesday evening as well as merged and renamed various ministries.
In a statement, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Alfred Mutua, will head the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano has been moved to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
Alice Wahome has been moved from Ministry of Water to the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, while her counterpart Zacharia Njeru has been moved to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation.
Peninah Malonza who was heading the Ministry of Tourism is now in-charge of the East Africa, ASAL and Regional Development.
Moses Kuria has been moved to a newly reconstituted and renamed Ministry of Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management while his counterpart Aisha Jumwa will head a new established ministerial portfolio; the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage.
Principal Secretaries
Consequently, in his reorganisation, President Ruto has named Harsama Kello as the Principal Secretary (PS) Ministry of ASAL and Regional Development.
Julius Korir becomes new PS for Water and Sanitation, Geoffrey Kaituko for Shipping and Maritime Affairs while Shadrack Mwadime moves to Labour and Skills Development ministries.
Dr. Paul Rono is the PS Crops Development, Idris Dokota PS Cabinet Affairs, Anne Wangombe for Gender and Affirmative Action while Veronica Nduva is PS for Performance and Delivery Management.
Further, the Head of State has nominated and redeployed 31 ambassadors and high commissioners and 14 deputies in accordance with Article 132 (2) (e) of the Constitution.
Government Spokesperson
Isaac Mwaura has been named the Government Spokesperson to be deputised by Mwanaisha Chidzuga and Gabriel Muthama.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers from the banking fraud unit have arrested Yogesh Pattni the CEO of Victoria Commercial Bank over what multiple sources attribute to money laundering allegations.
Victoria Commercial Bank CEO Yogesh Pattni.
The arrest of Pattni comes just a day after Sugar Baron Jaswant Rai was abducted and released by unknown men in the Kilimani area of Nairobi.
Harveen Gadhoke
At the same time, DCI Detectives are investigating claims of how Harveen Gadhoke who is said to be a signatory to a Dubai based Company Vartox Resources Inc which illegally bought Mumias Sugar Company Ethanol and Co-generation Plants was appointed as the new Administrator of the struggling Mumias Sugar Company.
Victoria Bank which is alledgedly owned by Jaswant Rai’s Cousin sold the two Assets to Vartox after mysteriously acquiring them from Eco Bank and Proparco where they were being held as surity for loans acquired by MSC.
Recently, DCI arrested Rai at the JKIA upon arrival from Uganda where he was detained for hours before being driven to the DCI Headquarters along Kiambu Road for grilling.
He is being investigated for his involvement in the illegal and mysterious sale of the two MSC Assets including Money laundering.
Victoria Bank
Victoria Commercial Bank was alleged to have been involved in money laundering in the Mumias Sugar saga.
Mumias was placed under receivership by the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) in 2019 to protect its assets and maintain operations.
The miller owed KCB and several other creditors over Ksh29 billion.
KCB placed the miller under the hands of Ponangipalli Ramana Rao in a resuscitation plan.
Some of the Mumias assets that had secured loans from Eco Bank and French Development Agency Proparco moved between the two banks to Victoria Commercial Bank in a suspicious transaction.
The two assets, co-generation plant and Ethanol valued at Ksh1.9 billion and Ksh4 billion respectively, later ended up with Dubai-based firm Vartox Resources Inc.
In transferring the assets, the parties ignored an inter-lenders agreement signed on September 27, 2010.
The deal detailed exclusion of the two syndicated assets from the existing lender security.
The agreement required each lender to notify other parties of ‘any modification, termination, amendment and transfer of any security.’
Other lenders in the deal included Barclays Bank and Stanbic Bank.
“If any lender wished to discharge its security it will notify the other lenders prior to affecting the discharge…Consultation notice to be issued to all lenders for a period of 10 working days,” the agreement read.
Contrary to the agreement, however, Proparco and Ecobank went ahead to assign their right to Victoria Commercial Bank on October 4, 2021, without notice to KCB, Barclays Bank or Stanbic.
Interestingly, the transactions happened when the receiver-manager was engaged in the leasing process for the survival of the sugar firm.
Pattni’s alleged arrest comes days after Kabras Sugar owner Jaswant Rai was apparently taken hostage on Friday evening.
Rai was freed on Sunday by his alleged captors.
President William Ruto in an attack on the billionaire said his government was working towards reviving the sugar industry but its efforts were being thwarted by cartels.
“Do not be worried, I am alert to make sure everything will be okay. There is no one who will meddle. Do not be worried about someone coming to talk to us. Someone was telling me Rai. Who is Rai? No, that is not possible,” said the head of state.
Ruto wondered why privately owned sugar companies were generating more profit than their public competitors despite the government pumping a lot of money into the latter.
He said the government will deviate from solely running the public sugar mills in the region as the strategy had failed in the past.
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Rai and Pattni have now both been questioned by the DCI on money laundering-related issues.
The heart of this investigation revolves around a sophisticated method of transferring substantial sums of money through VCB.
The Central Bank of Kenya is also conducting a parallel investigation into this matter.
The modus operandi is as follows: significant amounts of money are siphoned from VCB bank accounts and routed to distant offshore destinations such as Dubai and Mauritius.
Once there, these funds are employed to facilitate illicit activities, including arms trade, narcotics distribution, and even bolstering political campaigns.
The primary focus is on Rai, who is suspected of exploiting VCB as a conduit for disguising the origins of funds generated from his sugar business and other business ventures.
He further faces allegations of evading taxes and engaging in bribery to secure preferential treatment in contractual matters.
Similarly, Pattni, occupying a high-ranking position within VCB, is suspected of playing a pivotal role in facilitating the mechanics of the money laundering operation through his influential position.
There are allegations that he has utilized VCB’s funds to acquire real estate assets both domestically and internationally.
The DCI has seized pertinent documents from Rai’s premises and VCB’s offices, a move aimed at aiding their meticulous investigation into this intricate scheme.
To ensure a halt in the progress of potentially unlawful activities, the DCI is considering taking the step of freezing numerous bank accounts associated with Rai, Pattni, and even Nurdin Akasha, along with their associates.
This decisive action underscores the seriousness of the investigation as authorities work assiduously to unearth the covert maneuvers that may be transpiring behind the scenes.
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When Jaswant Singh Rai and Yogesh Pattni were both recently held for hours by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at a Nairobi airport on money laundering-related issues, Rai was asked about his links to Muhoho Kenyatta, the brother of former president Uhuru Kenyatta, and his alleged financing of opposition figures, including Raila Odinga’s presidential bid in the 2022 general elections.
Rai is said to have used his influence with Muhoho Kenyatta to secure lucrative deals and contracts from the government during Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime.
He is also said to have benefited from protection and immunity from prosecution for his illegal activities.
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Rai has a history of controversies and scandals involving his sugar business.
He owns several sugar companies in Kenya and Uganda, including West Kenya Sugar Company, Sukari Industries, Menengai Oil Refineries, Kinyara Sugar Works in Uganda, and Rai Paper Mills.
During the tenure of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Rai faced allegations of importing mercury-poisoned sugar from Brazil and Dubai.
The imported sugar was discovered to contain elevated levels of mercury, copper, lead, arsenic, and other harmful substances that pose significant health risks to consumers.
Rai was accused of collaborating with government officials and agencies to bypass inspection and clearance protocols at the port of entry.
He was charged with repackaging and relabeling the sugar as domestically produced, deceiving unsuspecting customers.
Rai’s business practices have also been marred by accusations of exploiting farmers and manipulating sugar prices.
These allegations encompass delaying payments to farmers, inadequate compensation, unjust deductions, and fees.
He has often been accused of stockpiling sugar to create artificial shortages and inflate prices.
Rai’s operations have encountered resistance from industry players like the state-owned Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) and the Kenya Sugar Research Foundation (KESREF).
Illegal sugar imports from neighboring countries, such as Uganda and Tanzania, have negatively impacted Rai’s business.
He once faced accusations of involvement in smuggling and the dumping of sugar in the Kenyan market, resulting in unfair competition and harm to local producers.
Environmental degradation and human rights violations have also been linked to Rai’s sugar business.
Accusations include polluting water sources, deforestation, displacing communities, and mistreating workers in his sugar plantations and factories.
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The Rai-Pattni-Akasha nexus is a complex web of money laundering, political manipulation, and corruption that involves some of the most powerful and influential figures in Kenya.
The arrest of Yogesh Pattni, the CEO of Victoria Commercial Bank, has exposed the illicit business dealings between him, Jaswant Singh Rai, the owner of a sugar empire, and Nurdin Akasha, a notorious member of the Akasha crime family.
The saga also reveals how Mumias Sugar, once Kenya’s largest sugar producer, was brought to its knees by the machinations of these individuals and their associates.
The investigation by DCI is still ongoing, and more revelations are expected to emerge in the coming days.
The fate of Yogesh Pattni, Jaswant Singh Rai, Nurdin Akasha, and others involved in this scandal hangs in the balance, as they face possible charges of money laundering, arms dealing, fraud, tax evasion, and other crimes.
The case has also raised questions about the role of banks, regulators, and law enforcement agencies in curbing financial crimes and ensuring accountability in Kenya.
Ultimately, the Rai-Pattni-Akasha nexus is a story that exposes the dark underbelly of Kenya’s political and economic system.
Despite widespread calls for austerity measures and the challenging economic times faced by Kenyans, President William Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and Members of Parliament (MPs) are set to enjoy a substantial 14 percent pay raise over the next two years.
The proposed review, put forward by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), aims to cushion these state officers against the rising cost of living.
If approved, this pay raise would provide significant relief to officials who have been grappling with the persistently high inflation that has eroded personal incomes and driven up the cost of basic consumer products.
However, it is important to note that this move raises concerns about the growing disparity between the salaries of state officers and the struggling salaried workers, part-time workers, and those in the informal sector, who continue to bear the brunt of the biting inflationary environment.
President Ruto’s monthly gross remuneration package is expected to rise by 7.1 percent from July 2023, reaching a staggering Sh1,546,875, before another 6.7 percent increase to Sh1,650,000 from July 2024.
Similarly, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will witness a 14.3 percent jump in his remuneration package over the two-year period, with his monthly compensation rising to Sh1,367,438 from July 1, and eventually reaching Sh1,402,500.
Cabinet Secretaries will also see their remuneration rise to Sh1,056,000 per month starting from July 2024.
In addition to the pay raise, Members of Parliament, including senators, will experience an 8.3 percent wage increase over the next two financial years, earning Sh741,003 and Sh769,201 respectively, excluding committee sitting allowances, which are capped at Sh120,000 per month.
The proposed pay raise extends beyond the national government, as governors are set to receive a comparable increase in compensation, while Members of the County Assembly will witness a 14 percent rise in their monthly remuneration.
Moreover, other state officers, including principal secretaries, the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice, the Auditor-General, judges, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Inspector-General of Police, and chairpersons of key commissions, will also enjoy a pay raise.
The proposed review encompasses allowances and benefits such as car loans, mortgage benefits, pensions, and medical and hospital insurance.
While the SRC has invited public comments on the proposed remuneration packages before finalizing them, the potential approval of these increases will undoubtedly expand the country’s already burdensome wage bill.
Members of Parliament are also set to benefit from the controversial 14% pay increase. [Image: PD]As of the fiscal year ended June 2022, the national government’s wage bill stood at Sh506.29 billion, with the counties’ wage bill reaching Sh190.11 billion. The SRC has acknowledged that the escalating wage bill is impeding other government expenditures, and it has highlighted the importance of sustained revenue growth to mitigate its impact.
Unfortunately, private sector workers, who experienced a mere 5.6 percent wage increase in 2022, are left envious of the state officers’ substantial pay raise. Moreover, the meager wage growth in the private sector was effectively wiped out by inflation, which led to a 2.7 percent decline in real wage growth last year.
Inflation has remained persistently high this year, primarily driven by increased food and fuel costs. These economic challenges have compelled the Central Bank of Kenya to raise the benchmark lending rate to its highest level in nearly seven years.
May’s inflation rate reached 8.0 percent, surpassing the prescribed upper limit of 7.5 percent, further exacerbating the financial struggles faced by Kenyans.
What willl be left of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after his tendency to court controversy and moves to to portray himself as an individual who is unafraid to speak his mind ends?
Gachagua has been in office for only five months since his inauguration but he has made a million statements that have elicited fury for being unbecoming of his high position. His corruption cases have been dropped and Sh200 million frozen by the retired regime given back to him.
But he still remains unbowed by the criticism and accusations of reducing the stature of the Office of the Deputy President to a tribal corridor. Gachagua still thinks he is unapologetic and resolute in his mission to speak the truth.
He recently sparked outrage after he said the Kenya Kwanza government will only prioritize those who supported it in the 2022 General Election amid a sustained onslaught by allies of the previous regime.
If The Goverment of the Rublic of kenya has become a company with shareholders then How will all Kenyans pay TAXES to a comoany belonging to two individuals. Haiya!!@ahmednasirlaw pic.twitter.com/NrkkpdIHPx
“This government is a company that has shares. There are owners who have the majority of shares, and those with just a few, while others do not have any, therefore those who voted for us and supported us must enjoy the benefits first,” Gachagua said.
Many Kenyans wonder if he will survive re-election in 2027 and be President William Ruto’s running mate again amid fears that he may be dropped for Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who is more presidential, reserved and from the Luhya community which is also rich in votes.
Political Analyst Javas Bigambo argues that Gachagua’s chances of being part of the ticket will largely depend on how he will balance politics and delivery of services to Kenyans.
But Gachagua believes that he has consolidated enough backing from his Mount Kenya backyard to negotiate with big boys on the political table and make a comeback in 2027.
“He is trying to reduce the space that Ruto was operating in liberally in Mt. Kenya because he knows he is too busy with state management,” Bigambo argued.
President William Ruto and PCS Musalia Mudavadi sharing light momemnts during a past event [p/courtesy]It must be noted that President Ruto has never depended on any form of “political crutches” when pursuing his dream while Gachagua’s ascension to being the countries second in command came as a surprise to many in the run up to the August 2022 General Election.
President Ruto sympathized with him after the current Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki bowed out of the race despite making the best cut of a running mate material.
The former Mathira MP has kept an animated profile since becoming the DP as he keeps on veering off from the persona of what is required of a Deputy President to being a crooked street politician.
Although President Ruto has never shown any signs of being uncomfortable with his deputy’s style of politics, chances are hight that he might drop him as he gets into his legacy term.
And Gachagua must be sensing that his crooked method might not work till 2027. Reliable sources reveal that President Ruto has funded the office of PCS Mudavadi well and might pick him over Gachagua as he defends his seat in the coming polls and eventually endorse the former ANC leader to succeed him in 2032.
DP Gachagua has now treats Mudavadi as his sworn enemy as he funds idling politicians like the former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala to scuttle Mudavadi’s influence in Western region in attempts to consolidate his power ahead of 2027 general elections.
His newfound political friendship with Malala has led to the return of the famous Cleo Malala Super Cup that has increased its coverage to include a total of five counties from the wider Luhya region.
The DP believes that outspoken Malala is the best person to push for his interests in the vote rich Mulembe Nation as recruits a team of Jubilee politicians from Mt. Kenya region to fight his wars and reduce Mudavadi’s chances.
Political pundits like Mutahi Ngunyi believe that President Ruto is most likely to settle on Mudavadi as his running mate during his 2027 reelection bid. This is one reality that has hit Gachagua hard and he is now desperately fumbling with his possible plan B should the president abandon him.
The beef between Gachagua and Mudavadi traces back to days before the last general elections when Gachagua acted wild at the prospect of Ruto considering Mudavadi as his running mate. He instisted that the position had to be filled by a person from Mt. Kenya.
Gachagua got the DP position but Ruto has made him angrier by assigning Mudavadi more roles to overpower the DP in Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration.
President William Ruto has launched Hustler’s Fund, one of his key flagship projects he promised voters during the last campaigns. Hustler’s fund is expected to provide 500 times cheaper loans to Kenyans with a daily interest rate of 0.002 per cent.
President Ruto said the fund has four categories of loans including personal finance, microloan, SMEs and start-ups. Personal loan ranges from Ksh500 and Ksh50,000, and should be repaid within 14 days, but SMEs and start-ups can access loans of up to Ksh250,000.
Loan limits will be determined by one’s credit scores, with the duration taken to service a loan playing a major factor in processing future loans.
The event held at the Green Park Bus Terminus in Nairobi marked the day that Kenya Kwanza administration fulfilled one of its biggest campaign pledges and it was also filled with PR Stunts and drama.
/courtesy
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was a lead actor when he bought a shirt for Sh50,000 from a trader who was planted as one of the props at the launching venue.
The DP was called to the podium and asked to purchase a shirt which he took then the Master of Ceremony told him to pay Sh50,000 for.
The outspoken Trade Secretary Mr. Moses Kuria also bought a shirt at Sh60,000 while President Ruto purchased maize from a ‘hustler.’
The Hustler Fund aims to lift ordinary Kenyans to have easy access to affordable credit to grow their businesses. The government is also using it as way of creating jobs, strengthening the economy and empowering investors both domestically and internationally.
Disbursement of the Sh50 billion annual Hustlers’ Fund kitty will start on Thursday. The fund which will be available for individuals, groups, small enterprises and co-operatives will be offered at a one-digit interest rate of 8% per annum.
President described the fund as one that will give Kenyans blacklisted by money lending apps and M-Swari, a second chance to access loans. He also added that it will be cheaper, compared to what other lenders are currently offering.
Crafters of the fund describe it as an initiative meant to improve financial access to responsible finance for personal, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
