Kenya Insights

Tag: Wavinya Ndeti

  • Wavinya Ndeti Acquires Chopper As Questions Arise Over New Properties And Son’s Overnight Wealth

    Wavinya Ndeti Acquires Chopper As Questions Arise Over New Properties And Son’s Overnight Wealth

    She arrived in power in August 2022 as Machakos County’s first female governor, riding a wave of popular goodwill and lofty promises of transformation.

    Less than four years later, Wavinya Ndeti stands at the centre of a scorching corruption storm, accused of presiding over a brazen scheme of self-enrichment that investigators say has drained hundreds of millions of shillings from a county where hospital shelves run bare, streets go dark and workers have not seen a pay cheque in nearly two years.

    The latest flashpoint is the emergence of a private helicopter that sources say the governor and her son Charles Oduwole have been using for personal travel.

    The acquisition of the aircraft, the value of which insiders put in the tens of millions of shillings, has detonated fresh outrage in a county already convulsed by revelations about an empire of farms, apartments, petrol stations, media houses and ranches that critics allege have been built not on personal enterprise but on the systematic looting of public coffers.

    The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has confirmed, through sources familiar with its investigations, that it is building a case against the governor and her son over massive graft linked to inflated contracts, single-sourced tenders, money laundering and the misuse of public funds. No arrests have been made, and the governor has flatly denied all wrongdoing.

    “We see these roads falling apart within months yet we are told millions were spent. Where did the money go?”

    According to a detailed dossier circulating among county officials and now in the hands of investigators, the alleged enrichment began with agriculture. Ndeti is accused of using county equipment and staff to develop an extensive farm at Kwa Mboo in Kinanie, constructing a private dam under the cover of a public water project. The farm, sources say, now supplies vegetables to county hospitals at inflated prices, turning public procurement into a private revenue stream.

    From farming, the allegations extend into real estate. Ndeti is accused of constructing Mwaitu Apartments in Athi River using county staff, equipment and materials sourced through the county housing department, at zero personal cost. She has reportedly also acquired three houses in London. In the energy sector, insiders allege she used a Somali businessman as a front to gain control of the Shell petrol station at Sabaki, Mavoko, where county vehicles are fuelled, creating a tidy loop through which public funds flow back to private pockets.

    The alleged diversification does not end there. Ndeti is said to have acquired Mutongoi TV and radio stations in Machakos town, a flour milling company in Masii that has since expanded to Mombasa and now operates a fleet of 30 lorries, and a 5,000-acre ranch in neighbouring Kitui County, complete with a dam and three boreholes sunk using Machakos county equipment. The Kitui ranch, sources claim, now serves as the sole supplier of beef to Machakos county hospitals and the Machakos Youth Service.

    A palatial residence at Kinanie, built by a contractor who sources say was paid through county funds with materials donated by companies in Mavoko, completes a personal portfolio that critics say could not plausibly have been assembled on a governor’s salary. Currently, county equipment from the agriculture and urban departments is reportedly being deployed at Kinanie to construct fish ponds whose produce will be supplied back to county hospitals.

    THE SON WHO BECAME A BILLIONAIRE

    If the allegations against the governor are explosive, those swirling around her son Charles Oduwole are arguably more incendiary. The young man, a dual UK-Kenyan citizen, has emerged as one of the most controversial figures in Machakos county politics, enriched, his critics say, through a monopoly on county contracts that appears to have been granted through the back door of his mother’s office.

    Oduwole is identified as the sole supplier of software and hardware, information, communication and telecommunications equipment to the county government. He is alleged to have supplied the county with its revenue software system and all associated hardware, with his proxy companies paid well before works are completed or deliveries confirmed. The arrangement, insiders say, allows millions to be extracted from public accounts with minimal accountability.

    At the centre of EACC’s probe is Kayleaf Tours and Travel Company Limited, a firm linked to Oduwole and his associate Osman Salat, also known as Ali. Registered shortly after Ndeti assumed the governorship, Kayleaf is alleged to have monopolised all travel contracts for the county without competitive bidding, charging up to 20 times the market rate for airline tickets. Investigators say the company processed travel for the governor’s family, including private trips abroad, while billing the county as official business. Fake invoices, EACC sources allege, were used to siphon millions through carefully orchestrated channels, with funds traced to international accounts held under multiple aliases connected to Oduwole.

    The optics on the ground are hard to explain away. Oduwole was recently photographed behind the wheel of a Sh40 million Lexus. He has reportedly purchased a house in Karen, Nairobi, for Sh200 million. Part of the governor’s armed security detail has been redeployed to provide him personal protection, and when he is not being driven in a county vehicle by a county-paid driver, he is in the Lexus. Mother and son are additionally accused of selling county contracts to the highest bidders, with quarry revenues across the county said to be diverted from public accounts into private ones through a system that manipulates revenue reporting.

    The EACC is building a case over massive graft linked to inflated contracts, single-sourced tenders and money laundering. No arrests have been made.

    The financial carnage in the county is stark. Machakos’ pending bills have surged to Sh6.8 billion in under three years, up from Sh2.1 billion inherited from Alfred Mutua’s two terms, according to data from internal finance discussions.

    The Controller of Budget has warned that such levels threaten service delivery and long-term fiscal stability. Legitimate contractors who completed roads and buildings to specification say they have been waiting months for payment while companies linked to the governor’s network were settled within days. Some county staff have gone for close to two years without salaries. Hospitals report chronic drug shortages. Street lights stay off.

    In September 2024, reports emerged that Ndeti and her son had been detained in the United Kingdom in connection with an attempt to deposit what some accounts put at Sh679 million at a London bank.

    British anti-fraud officials are said to have questioned Charles Oduwole over the transaction. The governor denied the reports categorically, insisting her overseas travel was for official and family business, and she secured a criminal prosecution against a former Wiper youth official who had publicised the claims on social media, charging him under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act. The UK incident did not result in disclosed charges, but it sharpened scrutiny of her family’s financial dealings to an intensity that has not since abated.

    More recently, fresh details emerged in February 2026 that Ndeti funnelled over Sh350 million to companies linked to herself through proxies and business partners, for road projects that contractors say were shoddily executed or remain incomplete. Multiple contractors told investigators they described a procurement system seized directly from the top, with the governor personally directing tender awards, influencing evaluation committees and approving payments to favoured firms while legitimate claimants languished unpaid.

    Internally, the political temperature has been rising. In March 2025, Muthwani MCA Dominic Maitha threatened an impeachment motion, accusing Ndeti of corruption, nepotism, ghost workers and inflating the county wage bill to over Sh500 million a month.

    A faction of MCAs allied to County Assembly Speaker Anne Kiusya has separately demanded a forensic audit of all county expenditure since Ndeti took office, accusing her allies of targeting Kiusya with impeachment precisely because she refused to rubber-stamp irregular spending. The MCAs have also questioned the source of Sh20 million allegedly used to mobilise crowds for political rallies in the county.

    In a statement, Governor Ndeti denied all the allegations of impropriety. She insisted that her administration has delivered nearly 1,000 projects since August 2022 and pointed to record own-source revenue collection of Sh1.7 billion in the 2023-2024 financial year as evidence of transparent stewardship. She described the allegations as a politically engineered smear campaign designed to undermine the transformative work of her government and distract her from serving the people of Machakos. She dismissed reports of the UK detention as fabricated narratives sponsored by political opponents.

    The governor has not been shy about acting against corruption within her own ranks when it serves her purposes.

    In September 2025 she suspended 36 county officials, forwarding their names to the DCI and EACC for prosecution over underreporting of fees, issuance of fake permits and diversion of revenue. The move was applauded by some observers and derided by others as a performative gesture designed to create the impression of a clean administration while the larger alleged scheme of self-enrichment continued unimpeded.

    The question that civil society groups, opposition politicians and an increasingly restive Machakos public are now asking out loud is: who is protecting Wavinya Ndeti at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission? With the EACC said to be building an arrest file, and with a governor who has repeatedly survived scandal by going on the offensive, the answer may determine not only her political future but the future of the county she governs.

  • Wavinya Ndeti Ordered To Pay Sh4.2 Million To Staff She Had Sacked For Saying She’s Wantam

    Wavinya Ndeti Ordered To Pay Sh4.2 Million To Staff She Had Sacked For Saying She’s Wantam

    Former Education CEC Philip Kilonzo wins landmark case after being fired in just 72 hours for allegedly criticizing governor

    Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s administration has been dealt a humiliating blow after a court ordered the Machakos County government to pay a staggering Sh4.2 million to a former minister she dramatically sacked over claims he predicted her government would be a “one-term wonder.”

    In a damning judgment delivered on February 4, the Employment and Labour Relations Court slammed the governor for what it termed an arbitrary and oppressive dismissal that violated basic principles of fairness and justice.

    Philip Mutua Kilonzo, who served as County Executive Committee Member for Education before his abrupt termination in October 2023, was vindicated after Justice Stella Rutto ruled that his sacking was based on nothing more than “hearsay” and unsubstantiated allegations.

    The court heard how Kilonzo was given a mere three days over a weekend to respond to serious career-ending accusations before being shown the door on a Monday morning in what the judge described as a rushed and fundamentally flawed process.

    The governor had accused Kilonzo of three offenses that she claimed warranted immediate dismissal: publicly stating at Matuu State Lodge that her government would serve only one term, illegally subdividing public land, and abusing his office in a land dispute involving one Mbithe Nzioka Kioko.

    But when push came to shove in court, the county government spectacularly failed to produce a single shred of evidence to back up any of the explosive claims.

    “The respondents failed to present any evidence in court to substantiate the allegations against the claimant. For example, on the first charge, there was no indication of when the claimant purportedly made the verbal statements that the Government of Machakos County would only serve one term,” Justice Rutto stated in her scathing judgment.

    The court noted that no witnesses were called to testify about the alleged disparaging remarks, no documents proved Kilonzo’s involvement in illegal land allocation, and the complainant in the land dispute never gave a statement or testified.

    “Consequently, the allegations amounted to mere hearsay,” the judgment declared.

    Justice Rutto further tore into the county government for giving Kilonzo just three days to defend himself against such serious accusations, calling the timeframe “oppressive” and questioning what the “urgency” was.

    The court also found that although the governor claimed to have reviewed evidence before making her decision, she never shared any of it with Kilonzo, completely undermining his constitutional right to a fair defense.

    “Despite the first respondent herein issuing the claimant with a notice to show cause and requesting a response, the brief notice period, coupled with the failure to provide evidence supporting the allegations, severely undermined the claimant’s ability to adequately mount a defense and, consequently, his right to a fair hearing,” Justice Rutto ruled.

    Kilonzo’s nightmare began in November 2022 when he was appointed to Ndeti’s cabinet as CEC for Land, Urban Development, Housing, and Energy. Just months later, in September 2023, he was shuffled to the Education docket during a surprise cabinet reshuffle at Matuu County Lodge.

    His new posting barely lasted a month before he received the Friday show-cause letter and was terminated the following Monday on October 9, 2023.

    The court awarded Kilonzo a comprehensive compensation package that includes Sh404,250 as one month’s salary in lieu of notice, Sh2,021,250 in damages for unfair termination equivalent to five months’ salary, Sh1,503,810 in gratuity for one year of service, and Sh282,975 for 21 days of accrued leave.

    The county government has also been ordered to issue Kilonzo with a Certificate of Service, settle all legal costs, and pay interest on the full amount until complete payment is made.

    In a statement that appears prescient in hindsight, the court emphasized that while governors have the power to dismiss CECs, that power is not absolute and must be exercised reasonably.

    “Such a decision must be exercised reasonably and based on valid and compelling grounds. A governor may dismiss a CEC member on legitimate reasons and for the public good, subject to due process being followed,” Justice Rutto ruled.

    The landmark judgment sends a clear warning to county bosses across the country that they cannot wield their powers arbitrarily or dismiss senior officials based on unproven allegations without following due process.

    For Governor Ndeti, who swept into office promising to uphold high standards of service delivery and had publicly threatened to crack the whip on non-performing staff, the ruling represents a costly lesson in the limits of executive authority.

    At the time of Kilonzo’s dismissal in October 2023, Governor Ndeti had issued a terse statement saying she had “reviewed his performance and come to the conclusion that it is untenable for him to continue holding office as CECM.”

    She had claimed the decision was “informed by the need to uphold high standards of service delivery to the people of Machakos County.”

    But the court’s findings paint a dramatically different picture, suggesting the dismissal had little to do with performance and everything to do with alleged political statements that were never proven to have been made.

    The case highlights the precarious position of county executive members who serve at the pleasure of governors but are also entitled to basic constitutional protections and fair treatment under employment law.

    Kilonzo becomes the latest in a growing list of county officials who have successfully challenged their dismissals in court, with judges increasingly willing to push back against what they view as high-handed and arbitrary actions by county bosses.

    The Sh4.2 million award will now be paid from public coffers, meaning Machakos taxpayers will foot the bill for what the court found to be an unjust and procedurally flawed dismissal.

    Governor Ndeti’s office had not responded to requests for comment by the time of going to press.

  • Wavinya Ndeti’s SEKEB Leadership Under Fire as Regional Bloc Grinds to Standstill

    Wavinya Ndeti’s SEKEB Leadership Under Fire as Regional Bloc Grinds to Standstill

    The South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc has become virtually dormant under Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s chairmanship, with sources within the organization painting a damning picture of a once-promising regional alliance now teetering on the brink of irrelevance.

    SEKEB, which brings together the counties of Machakos, Kitui and Makueni, was designed to be a powerful vehicle for economic transformation and cultural development across the lower Eastern region. However, insiders claim that since Ndeti took over the helm in March 2024, the bloc has failed to undertake a single meaningful engagement, activity or event.

    “It’s a complete shame,” a source within SEKEB told The Star on condition of anonymity. “The organization has become moribund. There’s been absolutely nothing happening. No initiatives, no projects, no visible leadership.”

    The criticism comes barely two years after Ndeti assumed the chairmanship from Kitui Governor Julius Malombe in what was meant to herald a new era of regional cooperation. Instead, observers say the bloc has receded into obscurity.

    According to sources, Ndeti’s leadership deficiencies stem from an apparent inability to drive innovation and creativity, qualities deemed essential for attracting development opportunities to a region grappling with water scarcity, poor infrastructure and limited economic diversification.

    The allegations have raised eyebrows, particularly given that her fellow governors, Malombe and Makueni’s Mutula Kilonzo Junior, are widely regarded as sharp, focused and professional leaders. Critics question why the two have allowed SEKEB to languish under what they describe as ineffective stewardship.

    “These are governors who have demonstrated competence in their own counties,” another source said. “It’s puzzling that they would stand by and watch this critical regional body collapse.”

    SEKEB’s mandate extends beyond mere political symbolism. The bloc is meant to spearhead joint infrastructure projects, coordinate water resource management, promote trade and tourism, and present a unified political voice for the Ukambani region in dealings with the national government.

    When it was operationalized, SEKEB had ambitious plans including the completion of the Thwake Multipurpose Dam, establishment of specialized healthcare units across the three counties, development of aggregation centers for farmers, and lobbying for equitable revenue sharing from national parks within the region.

    The 3rd SEKEB Summit held in March 2024, where Ndeti took over leadership, saw the governors receive an Economic Blueprint and Investment Plan from consultants. They committed to implementing the first phase within three years. However, critics now claim this blueprint has gathered dust.

    Ndeti’s troubles extend beyond SEKEB. In October 2023, she was replaced as chairperson of the Council of Governors’ Trade and Cooperatives Committee, with the position going to Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika. At the time, there were whispers that governors had threatened to exit the committee if Ndeti remained at the helm, though these claims were never officially confirmed.

    Her removal from that position has now been cited by critics as evidence of a broader leadership crisis.

    “If governors had no confidence in her ability to lead a CoG committee, what made anyone think she could successfully chair a complex regional economic bloc?” one county official asked.

    The concerns come at a particularly sensitive time for devolution in Kenya. County governments are already battling funding delays from the National Treasury, constitutional tensions over resource allocation, and persistent questions about their capacity to deliver services efficiently.

    Regional economic blocs like SEKEB were envisioned as mechanisms to pool resources, leverage economies of scale, and amplify the voice of smaller counties in national policy debates. Their failure represents a significant setback for the devolution agenda.

    Ndeti, who made history as the first woman elected to represent Kathiani Constituency in parliament and went on to become Machakos governor in 2022 after two unsuccessful attempts, has faced scrutiny throughout her political career.

    In her defense, supporters point to initiatives she has launched within Machakos County, including youth empowerment programs, healthcare infrastructure improvements, and efforts to combat drug abuse. They argue that managing a county and chairing a multi-county bloc require different skill sets and that unfair criticism risks undermining women in leadership.

    When reached for comment, SEKEB secretariat officials declined to respond to the allegations, stating only that the bloc’s activities are guided by summit resolutions and that the next major engagement would be communicated in due course.

    Efforts to reach Governor Ndeti for comment were unsuccessful by the time of going to press.

    However, the allegations have sparked debate about the effectiveness of regional economic blocs across Kenya. While some, like the Lake Region Economic Bloc and the North Rift Economic Bloc, have made visible strides in joint projects and political coordination, others have struggled with infighting, lack of resources, and unclear mandates.

    For the people of Machakos, Kitui and Makueni, the stakes could not be higher. The three counties share common challenges: chronic water shortages exacerbated by climate change, limited industrial development, high youth unemployment, and inadequate transport infrastructure.

    A functional SEKEB could marshal collective bargaining power to secure national government support for mega-projects like the Thwake Dam, push for better terms in mining contracts, coordinate tourism marketing around shared assets like Tsavo National Park, and create a unified labor market for skilled workers.

    Its failure, on the other hand, leaves each county to fight alone for national attention and resources, a battle that smaller counties rarely win.

    As pressure mounts on Ndeti’s leadership, some observers are now calling for either a change in chairmanship or a complete restructuring of SEKEB’s governance model to ensure accountability and results.

    “What the people of lower Eastern need is not talk, but tangible action,” a Kitui-based economist said. “If the current leadership cannot deliver, then perhaps it’s time for a rethink before this bloc becomes completely irrelevant.”

    The coming months will be critical in determining whether SEKEB can be revived or whether it will join the long list of regional initiatives that promised much but delivered little.

  • Suspicions As Wavinya Ndeti Acquires Sh500 Million Property in Kitui

    Suspicions As Wavinya Ndeti Acquires Sh500 Million Property in Kitui

    Whispers are growing louder across Ukambani following revelations that Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has reportedly acquired a massive 5,000-acre piece of land in Kitui County for a staggering Sh500 million.

    The purchase has thrust the county boss into the spotlight, with residents questioning how she managed to amass such wealth barely three years into her first term in office.

    The land acquisition, which reportedly makes Ndeti the biggest individual landowner from the Ukambani region, has raised eyebrows particularly when compared to her predecessor, now Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, who owns a 200-acre ranch in the same area that he purchased after serving two full terms as governor.

    The stark difference in acreage and the timeline of acquisition has left many scratching their heads.

    Sources close to the matter suggest that the property was purchased through a company registered under the name of Ndeti’s son, Charles Oduwole, who has increasingly become a central figure in Machakos County operations despite holding no official government position.

    The young Oduwole is said to occupy a prominent office wing adjacent to his mother’s office, from where he allegedly coordinates meetings with various business interests seeking county contracts.

    What has particularly caught the attention of observers is the operational style that has emerged at the county headquarters.

    Reports indicate that dubious businessmen, including Somali traders and brokers, begin queuing at Oduwole’s office as early as 6 AM, with the governor’s son allegedly serving as the gateway to lucrative county tenders.

    These early morning meetings are said to be where potential contractors are allegedly asked to part with 20 percent of contract values before tender documents are prepared.

    The mother-son duo’s alleged micromanagement of county departments for financial gain has reportedly demoralized several chief officers, with some choosing to resign while others remain silent, fearing threats of dismissal from the younger Oduwole.

    This atmosphere of fear and control has created what insiders describe as a toxic work environment where competence takes a backseat to loyalty.

    County employees have noted a peculiar pattern where Governor Ndeti reshuffles her cabinet at the beginning of every financial year, strategically placing what they term as “stooges” in key positions to maintain complete control over the procurement process.

    During these reshuffles, which are heavily influenced by her son, competent officers are allegedly transferred to less influential departments while more pliable proxies are installed to execute what sources describe as the will of business cartels that have set up camp at the governor’s Kinanie home.

    The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has reportedly been investigating the operations surrounding Oduwole, but sources suggest the case may be closing without significant action, with the young man appearing to have become “untouchable” despite the mounting allegations.

    The timing of this massive land purchase for cattle ranching purposes has raised questions about the source of funds, especially considering the governor’s relatively short tenure in office.

    The half-billion shilling investment represents a significant financial commitment that has left many wondering about the transparency of county financial operations under Ndeti’s leadership.

    As the governor plans to venture into cattle ranching following in Mutua’s footsteps, the focus remains on whether proper procedures were followed in both the land acquisition and the source of funding for such a substantial investment.

    The case continues to generate considerable interest across the region, with many calling for greater scrutiny of county leadership and their business dealings.