Has a renowned governor allied with the tutam brigade fallen out with key opinion leaders in the region? Insiders say the county boss recently held a closed-door meeting with elders and politicians to discuss the county’s political future. The county, long aligned with the opposition, has increasingly leaned towards the tutam bandwagon. The governor reportedly sought the elders’ backing for his position, promising goodies in return. But the elders rejected his overtures, allegedly telling him to decamp to the opposition if he wanted to retain his seat. The meeting reportedly ended in shouting matches and was abruptly called off.
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A head of a state institution known for his alleged high-handedness is at it again. Insiders claim the boss, who travels abroad almost every month, has purportedly left the institution with billions of shillings in pending bills linked to his frequent trips. Worse, the boss is accused of supportedly dipping into staff training funds to finance his travels. Insiders claim employees missed their annual training last financial year after the boss allegedly exhausted the budget on foreign trips. Sources further allege he often travels with two female companions, who reportedly accompany him in shifts.
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A tutam diehard politician is increasingly finding the political ground beneath her slippery. Just days after a popular opposition figure hinted at the trouble facing the MP, a fresh signal from the government side suggests all is not well. A close ally of the two big men have reportedly told the politician to “leave in peace” after allegedly failing to deliver on a key “strategic” assignment. To make matters worse, the MP is said to have allegedly picked another enemy in her backyard while defending the government. As the Swahili say, when it is the monkey’s day to die, all trees become slippery.
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The time to showcase the scorecard is now. This is the reality facing many political leaders, with critics joking that they are confronting a “wantam” reality. One politico recently launched an online engagement platform, but instead of gaining traction, it has been met with ridicule and criticism. Constituents are reportedly telling the politician to get offline and deliver, arguing that no amount of online engagement can shield him from the ultimate verdict of voters at the ballot.
