There is no dignity in cheating. And if one is so evil or compelled to lie for whichever reasons, then they should ensure consistency in their fake narratives, if only for image. Inconsistencies in lies will blow your cover and crash the mission.
The ongoing political harassment of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho by the state is borne out of a dispute between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta over lies and misinformation disparaging the governor and his county government.
At some point, the falsehoods became so much that it was necessary to confront them with facts. But his noble efforts to put the record straight invited more trouble, as he would be accused of abusing the head of state.
That has been the case for about two years now. The President has consistently visited Mombasa and made far-reaching claims about lack of development projects and poor service delivery in the county. He would always blame them on ineptness and misappropriation of public funds by the county government.
Variously, he would relaunch old projects and claim they were new ones initiated by the national government, and dismiss the Joho administration as messy, unfocussed and one pilfering resources meant for the people of Mombasa.
Now the truth has come out and it is embarrassing. Governor Joho was, and is still is, a victim of Jubilee’s propaganda and lies.
An official government report has for the first time revealed that the figures about the allocation to Mombasa county finances were exaggerated, hence false. Yet the presidency is shy to apologise, and cease the persecution of the governor.
What does Jubilee want Kenyans to make of their boss (Uhuru Kenyatta) in view of their newly launched public information portal which shows the national government has only released slightly over Sh16 billion to Mombasa County government since 2013? Where did the President get his figure of Sh40 billion? Where did Mombasa Jubilee politicians get their figure of Sh43 billion? Or were their figures mere crude propaganda ploys at play?
Using the fake figures, the President has repeatedly attacked and chided Joho, branding him a non-performer, who has nothing to show for Sh40 billion dispersed to his government from Nairobi for development. Governor Joho’s protestations that the figures by the President were exaggerated and misleading have been dismissed, and often twisted to paint him as disrespectful of the President and abusive to the institution of the presidency.
In turn, Jubilee leaders from the county have enthusiastically echoed President Uhuru’s allegations, and continuously attacked, demonised and psychologically tormented the governor. They have claimed that he has misappropriated billions of shillings that should have been used to improve the lives and welfare of Mombasa county residents through provision of better services and development of modern infrastructure and facilities.
With this narrative, all efforts have been pushed to literarily “give a dog a bad name, and hang it”.
Efforts have been made to paint the governor as a criminal trading in banned substances, keeping illegal guns and gunmen, having forged academic documents and even not having been born in Kenya. Then there was the shooting incident in Migori, which some have claimed was an assassination attempt. The jury is still out.
What Kenyans should learn from Governor Joho’s troubles is that the UhuRuto regime have now confirmed our worst fears — that they are running the country on misinformation, vendetta, propaganda and misguided public relations. Not on any development agenda. Not any nation-building plan. Not any economic transformation design and definitely, not their manifesto. They are in power for the sake of it.
Ordinarily, the President and other senior government officials are supposed to pronounce figures and information that must have been carefully compiled and verified. They should never be in the business of bandying around unconfirmed issues, falsehoods or misinformation. But given the Mombasa case, we can conclude the country has a shambolic deal in terms of national governance.
Then begs the question: Could this unfortunate culture of the President and the Jubilee government running this country on misinformation and guesswork be the standard?
Isn’t it possible then that their huge figures to justify alleged development achievements in road construction, enhanced rural electrification, free maternity services, job creation, economic growth, retooling the security agencies, investment in irrigation schemes, government propelled foreign direct investment and fighting corruption are false and disjointed? Have Kenyans been deliberately misled by use of cooked figures and lies to reelect this clueless government?
Having known the truth about what the Mombasa government has received from the Treasury, Kenyans should now turn their focus on critical matters such as the Eurobond billions and other Jubilee regime scandals, and realise that all government pronouncements about handling them or their being non-scandals are unbelievable.
It is time the country reviews any trust they have in Jubilee promises.
The writer is Kitutu Masaba MP and ODM national treasurer
Leave a Reply