A Kisii Member of County Assembly has criticised the branding of publicly funded county programmes and projects with the name “Etaya”, arguing that taxpayer-funded initiatives should not be personalised for political purposes. Bouse Mairura, the Masimba Ward MCA, said he supports programmes aimed at improving the lives of Kisii residents but insisted that projects funded through the county budget should be identified as initiatives of the Kisii County Government and, ultimately, the people. Mairura singled out the ongoing Kisii County Tournament, popularly branded the “Etaya Tournament”, saying the event is funded through the county budget. “We welcome the tournament and…
Author: Magati Obebo
Nominated Kisii Senator Essy Okenyuri has appealed for calm and dialogue between the Kisii and Maasai communities living along the Nyagenke border amid rising tensions and reports of violence that have left two people dead. Speaking on Sunday, Okenyuri urged residents from both communities to reject violence and resolve their differences through dialogue, warning that continued confrontation could deepen divisions and disrupt the lives of families living along the border. Okenyuri, who said she was born and raised in Bomachoge Borabu, described the border area as a place where the Kisii and Maasai communities have coexisted for generations. “I come…
What began as a private quarrel between two young men over a woman has spiralled into a deadly confrontation in Mesocho, South Mugirango, raising fears that a personal dispute could trigger wider tensions between Maasai and Gusii youths along the Kisii-Narok border. At the centre of the trouble is a woman who, according to residents, had been romantically involved with youths from both communities. Last week, a Maasai youth reportedly followed the woman to a house in Mesocho after suspecting that she was seeing his rival. What he allegedly discovered inside the house sparked a confrontation between the two men.…
From jigger-infested feet and childhood hardship to the governor’s office, Simba Arati’s unlikely journey is a story of grit, survival, resilience and ambition. Before the suits, political rallies and official vehicles, young Paul Simba Arati was a village boy in Nyamache, Kisii, walking barefoot and carrying dreams he could hardly explain. His childhood, he says, was marked by hardship — the kind that teaches a child to endure before he is old enough to understand why life is difficult. There was little in his early years to suggest that one day he would occupy the governor’s office and preside over…
Kisii Governor Simba Arati has assured county government employees that their long-awaited salaries will be released by Monday, seeking to end growing anxiety among workers over delayed payments. Arati, speaking on Friday during a function attended by Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers and boda boda riders at the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC), said the Controller of Budget was expected to release funds set aside for the payment of county workers. The governor said some employees, particularly those whose salaries are processed through Family Bank, could receive their money as early as Monday morning. “The Controller of Budget has agreed…
Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo says his administration is on course to deliver on the key development promises contained in his 2022 manifesto before the 2027 General Election. Speaking during the funeral of Mzee Robinson Orucho at Mwencha in Ekerenyo Ward, Governor Nyaribo expressed confidence that he would have fulfilled his major campaign pledges by April 2027. “I am doing the work you assigned me as Governor. By April next year, I ask you to take a pen and mark against every promise that I made during the 2022 campaigns. I will have delivered,” he said. Nyaribo said the county was…
Former Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has returned to a political battlefield he lost decisively in 2022, hoping a second attempt will deliver the victory that eluded him. But the numbers confronting the former CS remain daunting. During the 2022 gubernatorial election, Machogu garnered 82,104 votes against Governor Simba Arati’s 270,928 — a margin of nearly 189,000 votes. Arati secured 68.54 per cent of the valid vote, while Machogu managed 20.77 per cent, leaving the former CS with a formidable political mountain to climb. For Machogu, therefore, the 2027 contest is more than a rematch. It is an attempt to…
For years, Nyambera, on the outskirts of Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, was a place residents hurried past. And for good reason. The dumpsite was an ugly, sprawling wasteland of rotting garbage, torn plastic bags, discarded food, broken bottles and foul-smelling waste piled into chaotic heaps. Clouds of flies swarmed over decomposing rubbish as marabou storks circled overhead and stray dogs rummaged through the filth. A putrid stench hung heavily in the air, turning the site into one of Kisii town’s most visible symbols of neglect, pollution and urban decay. When the rains came, dirty water oozed from the waste,…
Bonchari MP Dr Charles Onchoke could be heading for an increasingly bruising political battle in 2027, with three women emerging as possible challengers in a contest that threatens to disrupt the constituency’s traditionally male-dominated political order. Woman Representative Donya Toto, Bomas of Kenya director Purity Moraa Kirera and Stella Opore, daughter of former Bonchari MP Zebedeo Opore, are increasingly being mentioned as potential contenders as political activity gathers pace ahead of the next General Election. Their possible entry has generated interest among residents who see the three women as potential vehicles for political change in a constituency where political contests…
Cities are usually built with the living in mind. In more progressive societies, however, planners also make room for the dead. Not in Kisii. The county’s latest urban renewal drive has created a troubling contradiction: as authorities transform Nyambera public cemetery into a modern market intended to accommodate street traders, the dead are effectively being edged out of the city’s plans. For traders, the project promises order, dignity and economic opportunity. For bereaved families, it presents a painful dilemma. Kisii could soon have a modern market but no adequate alternative public cemetery—a problem that exposes the gap between rapid urban…
Kisii Governor Simba Arati has hit back at Jubilee Party presidential hopeful Fred Matiang’i over claims that his administration’s youth employment programme is being used to mobilise criminal gangs ahead of the 2027 General Election. Arati dismissed the allegations as an unfair attempt to criminalise thousands of young people who, he said, were simply seeking an honest livelihood through the county’s cleaning and sanitation programme. Speaking to youth groups undertaking sanitation work in Kisii town on Thursday, the governor appeared to directly respond to remarks by Matiang’i, who on Tuesday accused the county government of harbouring thugs under the programme…
Stalled road projects are fast becoming the political albatross hanging over Nyaribari Masaba Constituency ahead of the 2027 General Election. For years, residents have been promised better roads. Instead, many have been left with muddy tracks, deteriorating surfaces and a familiar cycle of political explanations whenever deadlines pass without visible progress. Among the roads initially earmarked for tarmacking are the Sosera–Getengeririe–Ekona–Ramasha–Riombaso Junction, Nyanturago–Ekona and Keroka–Kiamokama roads. By last week, about eight years after President William Ruto, then Deputy President, commissioned their construction in 2018, there was still little tarmac to show for the promises. That has left residents asking a…
At the moment, Kisii town is one big Tower of Babel. The noise—from hawkers and bars downtown—is matched by the unending congestion on narrow and increasingly crowded streets. The town’s streets have effectively become trading floors, with countless hawkers occupying pavements, road reserves and, in some cases, the entrances of established businesses. But Kisii Governor Simba Arati says the disorder could soon be a thing of the past with the completion of the Nyambera Modern Market. The market, funded by the national government to the tune of Sh700 million, is emerging as the county government’s possible answer to one of…
Kisii Town is set for a major road infrastructure upgrade after the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) announced plans to upgrade approximately 5.5 kilometres of urban roads to bitumen standards. The proposed works are contained in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) public consultation questionnaire issued as part of preparations for the project. The planned upgrade comes at a time when most roads within residential estates in Kisii Town are in a deplorable state, with motorists and residents grappling with potholes, muddy sections, drainage problems and impassable stretches, particularly during rainy periods. Residents have for years raised concerns over…
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has mourned a woman who died after she was reportedly run over by a campaign vehicle during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Homa Bay on Sunday evening. Mama Noureen Nalwanga, popularly known as NyaUganda, died after being overrun by a vehicle during the political gathering, an incident that has renewed concerns over political violence and rising tensions surrounding political activities in the county. Governor Wanga visited Nalwanga’s home in Mbuni Estate, where she stood with the bereaved family and conveyed her condolences. “My heartfelt condolences go to her family, friends and loved ones,” Ms Wanga…