EP 26: Morara Kebaso Vs Govt: A Tale Of Beefs
By Viral Tea Ke
Welcome to this week's episode of 'Spill The Tea' where we had local and regional fights.
Plus a former governor was convicted and punished, a first in Kenya's history.
On Episode 26:
Morara Kebaso Rattles Govt
Morara Kebaso, a well-known lawyer and activist, recognized for his outspoken views on various development projects in Kenya, lit up the country on the night of August 28, with this claim:
"Initially, I had calls from people around the President. Then eventually I got a call from the President...I spoke to him very respectfully because he is our President and he has been given that mandate by the people," he revealed.
“Whatever I was offered, I refused. I believe it (the government)?is overcrowded over there. There are enough people over there and being a brilliant person and a person of integrity, I believe that if I go into government, I am going there to be corrupt.”
On Wednesday, August 28 during an interview with Citizen TV's Jeff Koinange, Morara disclosed that the Head of State's handlers had approached him in light of intense fact-finding of various government projects in the country.
This was before Ruto called him to offer him a position in his government, which he respectfully declined.
Explaining his decision to decline the job offer, Morara opined that the government had enough staffers and that joining the government would compromise his integrity, hailed by Kenyans since his growth from being a sensation on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) for mimicking President Ruto with his near-perfect impersonation.
In his view, he would have joined the government and wound up being a corrupt individual instead out of pressure from within to loot public coffers.
At the same time, Morara revealed that Kenyans have been funding his political activism and skits imitating President Ruto.
“The people of Kenya are sponsoring me; the government knows. People have been sending money on my mobile number ..people have sent me Ksh10, Ksh 50, some send Ksh5,000 from abroad and that is how I am able to fuel my vehicle and pay my research assistant,” he said.
“So yes, am funded by the people and they will continue to fund me as long as I stay steadfast. They have committed themselves to make sure I never lack as I do this great work.”
The Govt Response
However, it was the clapbacks from government officials that spiced things up.
Hussein Mohamed
"It's just unbelievable. I mean, I wasn't following but I was told about this, I'm just shocked at what the gentleman Morara is saying.?I wonder why he would lie on national TV that the President called him.?It's ridiculous that I have to respond to this but let me do it because you, Jeff, you're my friend, we've worked together but you let it happen on national TV as well," he stated.
"For the record, such a call never happened, it’s a statement of his imagination. What is more shocking, Jeff, is that you can allow anyone to come on TV and tell you such a thing without demanding any proof or substantiation and you just buy it, hook, line and sinker. All you should have done at the very least is say that those are his words and it's an alleged claim from him, not just to accept and say okay the President called him. Anybody can say that and many people say that."
The former Citizen TV anchor however did commend Morara's efforts alongside those of many Kenyans, terming them part of accountability which he affirmed that President Ruto welcomes, as part of democracy.
However, he cautioned that "even as he talks about democracy and holds the government accountable, it is important that we do it truthfully.
Isaac Mwaura: Morara Kebaso, I am not aware of any call from the President to you. Please examine your conscience and show some patriotism. I just bumped into you at KICC like any other fellow citizen. Be honest with yourself.
President Ruto by the time of publishing this newsletter was yet to respond to Morara's claims.
Museveni Calls Out ‘Babu’ At State House
Meanwhile, State House in Nairobi did not only provide the perfect setting for the official launch of Raila Odinga's African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson bid but also for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to take a dig at Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino.
As he endorsed Raila's bid, Museveni accused the vocal and youthful Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lawmaker of interfering with Ugandan politics by collaborating with Uganda's anti-ruling party activists according to intelligence reports he received.
“There are some individuals in Raila’s group who I don’t think know what they are doing. You know I am a consumer of intelligence service.
"So, I always see intelligence reports. There is a character called Babu. I always see Babu dealing with anti-NRM groups,” said Museveni.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) is Uganda’s ruling party, led by Museveni himself. However, the Ugandan Head of State had exonerated Raila from links with Owino.
“I have never accused him, but now I am accusing him," he said, adding “I am accusing Babu, but those are individuals, they are not Raila. I know Raila as a nationalist and Pan-Africanist."
Babu Owino has been a vocal supporter of Ugandan opposition leader?Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, and has publicly declared his support for his movement and ideologies.
In 2018, the Ugandan government banned Babu from entering Uganda over undermining President Museveni’s administration.
Babu Owino Response
In a statement thereafter, the vocal legislator hailed the Ugandan Head of State for supporting Raila's AUC chairperson bid and revealed details of his upbringing.
"However, as a young leader in Kenya, having grown up in poverty, I know what it means to lack. If you tell me that you’ve slept hungry, I know what it means to lack food because I’ve been through that," he narrated in part.
"If you tell me that you lack school fees, I will feel you because I know what it is to lack school fees."
Owino expressed that leaders are important in terms of providing solutions to the problems facing youth in Kenya and across Africa.
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He declared his commitment to working towards a democratic society where every child, regardless of their country or economic background, has access to proper healthcare, education, and employment opportunities.
Furthermore, the youthful leader called for equitable treatment of all children, asserting that a child in Uganda should receive the same level of care and support as a child in Kenya.
"As Babu Owino, I stand for a democratic society where a child in Kenya will receive proper medication, and education and will equally get a job. Equally, a child in Uganda should receive the same treatment as a child in Kenya," he added, his plea directed towards Museveni.
"Because of this, we must offer alternative visions of leadership that will save Africans from the shackles of oppression and the jaws of poverty."
Other Kenyan Figures Weigh In
Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa on Wednesday, August 28 commented on utterances by Museveni, revealed he was very surprised at Museveni accusing Babu of interfering with Ugandan politics by collaborating with Uganda's anti-ruling party activists.
The former Defence Cabinet Secretary alluded to his closeness with Museveni spanning two decades to the point that he was an advocate for East Africa's longest-serving Head of State.
"We were very shocked yesterday when we heard one of the heads of state attack someone who is supposed to be his grandson," Wamalwa hit out at Museveni over the remarks.
The Azimio principal argued that just as he shares close ties with Museveni, Babu Owino shares close ties with Bobi Wine, an individual Babu has publicly declared his support for concerning his movement and ideologies.
"I'm a good friend of Hon. Yoweri Museveni. I have known him for more than 20 years and have been his lawyer. I don't know who Bobi Wine is but Bobi Wine knows Babu Owino. Babu Owino and Bobi Wine are friends," he continued.
Edwin Sifuna: Whatever beef Museveni has with Babu Owino, I strongly object to the manner of his attack on a young Kenyan leader on our own soil. Kenya is a country ruled by law and if there is any objectionable conduct on the part of Babu, there are diplomatic channels to convey that to Kenyan Authorities and let the law take its cause. To use a Presidential Podium to make such grave accusations against a Kenyan is a NO!
Gathoni Wamuchomba: Why would a foreign president use an international presidential platform to castigate a young Kenyan parliamentarian? I saw leaders giggle as if he was making a ‘good’ joke. This was uncalled for. Hon Babu Owino has a future in Kenya, not in Uganda. I stand with Babu
Ex-Governor’s Fate Sealed Over Ksh84M Scandal
Where It Began
Moses Lenolkulal, a former two-time Governor of Samburu, was on August 28 found guilty by the Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani alongside 12 others.
Lenolkulal, who became the first former governor to be convicted in an anti-corruption case, was in 2019 charged with abuse of office and graft-related counts in relation to a Ksh84 million Oryx Filling Station scandal, where he, as the owner, supplied his own county, leading to conflict and abuse of office.
Trial Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki ruled on Wednesday, August 28 that from the evidence produced in court by the ODPP, there is no doubt that Lenolkulal and his proxy Hesbon Ndathi were the ultimate beneficiaries of the public funds.
He found overwhelming evidence that Lenolkulal being the governor of Samburu at the time the offences were said to have been committed acted in a conflict of interest.
The magistrate relied on over 200 payment vouchers and lpos as evidence of Lenolkulal's direct trading with the county, adding that private interest compromised his integrity.
"A public officer must taken keen interest in the affairs of his office. They should always adhere to principles of good governance. In law a governor stands prohibited from trading with his county government," said Nzyuki.
He also faulted the county secretary who was the second accused person in the case for the role he played, stating that the county secretary signed and approved payments while aware Lenolkulal was the owner of the Oryx service station.
"The accounting office flatly lied on oath that they didn't know Lenolkulal was the owner of Oryx. They shouldn't have approved the payments to Oryx," said the court.
The magistrate said the evidence adduced in court by the DPP led by prosecution counsel Wesley Namache was overwhelming in that Lenolkulal co-accused persons used their officers to improperly approve payments to Oryx.
Lenolkulal was charged with four counts of abuse of office and conflict of interest leading to the loss of Ksh84 million in public funds from the Samburu county government and was accused of using his company- Oryx service station- to supply petrol and diesel to the county government.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) cited this as a clear case of conflict of interest, with the charge sheet showing?Lenolkulal ‘knowingly acquired direct private interests in contracts between Oryx and Samburu county government for the supply of fuel”.
The ex-county boss was charged alongside Hesbon Ndathi and eight others.?The court in July last year found he has a case to answer after Magistrate Nzyoki?considered the testimony of 11 prosecution witnesses and 388 documentary exhibits that were presented throughout the hearing.
Lenolkulal in his defence told the court that his first move after his election as Samburu governor in 2013 was to declare his interest in Oryx Service Station, doing so by writing a letter to the county secretary.
The Conviction
Following the guilty ruling, Lenolkulal was on August 29 fined approximately Ksh85 million. In delivering the sentence, Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyioki noted that his ruling was guided by four factors of the objective of deterrence, retribution, denunciation, and community protection.
In the landmark decision, the Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court directed the former Samburu Governor and businessman Hesbon Jack Wachira to each pay a fine of Ksh83,345,255, reflecting the amount unlawfully acquired from public funds, and should they fail to pay, they face an alternative sentence of four years in prison.
The court further ordered the former governor to pay a fine of Ksh1 million or in default serve another four years for the offence of Conflict of Interest.
Other former county officers; Daniel Nakuo Lenolkirina, Josephine Naamo Lenasalia, Reuben Marumben Lemunyete, Linus Milton Lenolngenje, Paul Lolmingani, Benard Ltarasi Lesurmat and Lilian Balanga were sentenced to pay a fine of Ksh700,000 each or serve 4 years imprisonment after they were convicted for the offence of abuse of office.
Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Riungu submitted to the court to impose a mandatory sentence on the former governor citing that the former governor breached an Oath taken under the constitution of Kenya to protect and uphold the rule of law adding that the former county chief betrayed the people of Samburu County.
In addition to the fines and imprisonment, the court disqualified Lenolkulal from holding any elective office for a period of 10 years.
Here are other stories that got Kenyans talking this week:
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