Hon Benard Waliuba ….Photo/IP
By IP Reporter
A Nairobi based businessman and self-styled “Mtu Kazi” Bernard Waliuba has discovered a new public sport in Western Kenya and other regions : grading governors—and handing out near-blank report cards.
Waliuba says he plans to petition government agencies to audit county governments and prosecute any officials found to have misappropriated public funds, a proposal that landed loudly on X, Facebook and local news sites, where wananchi were already doing their own audits—with emojis.
According to media reports and sustained social media commentary, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Bungoma’s Ken Lusaka and Busia’s Paul Otwoma are trailing in initiating visible development in Western Kenya;a ranking that appears to have been crowdsourced from potholes, stalled projects and long memories.
“How can Natembeya say he wants to inherit the mantle of Martin Shikuku as the people’s watchman when his scorecard is poor?” Waliuba posed, sharpening the red pen.
He dismissed what he called empty political rhetoric, saying politics without development and grassroots empowerment amounts to speeches chasing their own echoes.
“In 2027, development will be the scorecard countrywide,” Waliuba said, suggesting voters may finally switch from party colors to measuring tapes.
He added that it is unfortunate Western Kenya spent years in opposition without development, only to find that even with leaders aligned to government, resources still struggle to reach the grassroots.
“Our people were in opposition too long,” he said. “Now we are in government, but with these kinds of governors, we are worse off than the opposition.”
