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…
Author: Magati Obebo
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…
Kisii is entering the 2027 election season under a cloud of political tension, with succession battles, youth mobilisation and allegations of organised violence threatening to overshadow the region’s traditionally vibrant political contests. What was once largely a battle of speeches, rallies and political persuasion is increasingly being accompanied by allegations of intimidation, threats and physical attacks, raising fears that competition for political power could degenerate into violence. The warning signs have emerged in a series of incidents across Kisii, including the June assault on Ichuni Ward MCA Wycliffe Siocha in Kisii town. More recently, violence disrupted the Linda Mwananchi political…
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma urged investigations into the violence witnessed in Homa Bay on Sunday during a rally by the Linda Mwananchi movement. The legislator, who is already in the eye of a storm over remarks made in the aftermath of the unrest, urged security agencies to establish the circumstances surrounding the violence and identify those responsible. Kaluma in a statement, accused Siaya Governor James Orengo, Senator Edwin Sifuna and former Embakasi East MP Babu Owino of being directly involved in activities that contributed to the unrest. He also alleged that former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Deputy…
A landlord in Kisii County has issued an eviction notice to Governor Simba Arati over Sh2.4 million in rent arrears owed for a county office in Keroka town. Fred Morara Ongwae, the proprietor of Framer Apartment, has given the county seven days to settle the outstanding bill or vacate the premises housing the Ichuni Ward administrative office in Masaba South Sub-County. The landlord, who issued the notice on Monday, accused the county administration of failing to honour rent obligations despite several discussions and previous demand notices. The notice was also addressed to the County Executive Committee Member for Public Service,…
Poor workmanship on roads undertaken by the Kisii County Government in Masaba South Sub-County has sparked anger among residents, with a local MCA questioning the quality of projects being implemented using public funds. Residents have raised concerns that some roads deteriorate shortly after rehabilitation, putting the spotlight on the supervision of contractors and the county’s mechanisms for inspecting and approving completed works. Masimba MCA Bouse Mairura said residents deserved better from the administration of Governor Simba Arati, arguing that public funds should result in durable infrastructure. “What we are asking for is not luxury. We need roads that can withstand…
The Linda Mwananchi movement accused security officers and alleged state operatives of coordinating a violent attack against its leaders and supporters during its tour of Homa Bay County on Sunday, leaving two people dead and several others injured. Movement leaders described the incident as a “deliberate operation” rather than a spontaneous outbreak of political violence, alleging that some Kenya Police Service officers worked alongside armed groups to disrupt their convoy. “What we witnessed was not a spontaneous breakdown of law and order. It was a deliberate operation,” the group’s chair, Edwin Sifuna, said in a statement on Monday. According to…
Kisii County’s Bonchari parliamentary aspirant Donya Toto has mounted a spirited defence of President William Ruto, urging residents to support his administration as she stepped up her grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 General Election. Donya made the remarks on Monday during an empowerment forum in Bonchari that brought together women leaders, political figures and residents from across the constituency. Kitutu Chache North MP Japhet Nyakundi attended the event, alongside State House operative Farouk Kibet, who rallied residents behind President Ruto and urged them to support his bid for a second term. Kibet said the President deserved another term to…