Eyes on governors as counties receive Sh568bn, highest since advent of devolution
Senate of Kenya and Council of Governors (COG) inaugural meeting
In his latest effort to bring Kenyans together and focus on development and other issues bedeviling the country Raila Odinga made the proposal that each of the 47 counties nominate 40 delegates — 20 youth and 20 others from elders, women, people with disabilities, businesspeople, and civil society.
“This should not just be intergenerational, it must be representative of Kenya’s full diversity,” he said
“I have suggested that we start this conversation next month from the county level” he said.
In reality the proposal by Raila Odinga to start the dialogue process from the counties to move forward to the national level is fine but we should forget the national dialogue which is full of useless headaches with inherent power struggles.
The dialogue we need right now is to build a platform for every county to set up a forum to have people representing every key group in the counties to have a consultation going on for the next few months to find out what their counties are doing for them and how things can be done better.
This should be done in every county but if there are counties who do not want to talk with their citizens to find solutions to improve services and projects in their counties let them not have county dialogue process and continue with whatever they are doing.
The Governors and the MCAs are very happy because they will never have demonstrators in front of their county offices demanding to know how they are spending that Sh. 568 billion and the hundreds of billions they have received before in each year with the total mounting to trillions in cash from Kenyan tax payers.
The county big bosses spend billions allocated as if it is money for them to do whatever they want and have little token projects here and there.
And there is the stupid joke that the Kenya Senate provides supervision on county governments. The Senate a sick institution in our political power structure cannot supervise anybody and in fact every senator’s job if any governor is accused of mismanaging the county money is to protect that governor so that they can get a little more to eat from the governors they save.
Kenya government needs to establish a public audit office to specifically handle the expenses and projects managed by the governors and MCAs as well as dealing with NG-CDF which is currently pocket money for every single M.P in Kenya.
Typical NG-CDF Projects that mean very little to the constituents
Gilgil NG-CDF staff clash with youths over management of funds
Gitare Chief’s Office funded by Gilgil NG-CDF.
Operations at the Gilgil National Government- Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) offices were temporarily paralyzed on Wednesday after a group of youths clashed with the workers over the funds management and staff composition.
Why are the M.Ps fighting so hard now to keep the NG-CDF money still managed by M.Ps after the Supreme Court made a clear ruling that the NG-CDF presently managed by the M.Ps is illegal. Because it is their private money to buy big cars and houses in Nairobi and swing like the millionaires they are in the big city then only come back to their constituencies during their campaigns for re-election.
Can our M.Ps tell Kenyans which projects they have run with the NG-CDF money over all these years other than the fake bursaries they keep talking about because they know nobody can audit those bursaries and the M.Ps put random names to lie that they have provided money for students to go to school. Kenyans should get the real names of the students who got those bursaries and trace that to the schools students are supposed to be in right now.
Both the Kenya government and the noisy opposition leaders never talk about how the huge county budgets is spent. There is no public audit of county expenses like the Auditor General does with the national budget and money spent. Basically Kenyans have no idea how that money meant for the benefit of people at the local level is used and mostly the money is stolen.
Lets take a look at the schools in our country which should the primary focus of M.Ps with the Ng-CDF.
Octavia Kimani, a 10-year-old learner at Tom Mboya Primary School in Dandora.
Primary School in Karen and Runda
What does education look like for Kenya’s Samburu people?
Schoolchildren in front of the Samburu school.
Could this be the poorest school in Kenya?
Feb. 3, 2018
A teacher instructs her pupils at Kotuga Primary school in Suna West Migori County on January 23, 2018.
A school of about 120 pupils in the in Mathare, in Nairobi, Kenya, June 2, 2015.
And this below is a school believe it or not. The kids there are concentrating on how not to drown in the lake around them than listening to anything from the teacher.
This is a school in Lamu. Where is the CDF money to help here?
How can we do this to kids when MPs get hundreds of millions every year to develop their constituencies and obviously providing decent learning places is a big step towards providing quality education to the kids.
“I found the constituency in dire need of development and I am in the process of implementing projects that will see the lives of Ganze people improve, “he said the local MP to Standard Reporters.
Speaking about the situation at the school the MP admitted that there were more than 30 schools which are in a dilapidated state.
And here is another school for our kids in Jamhuri.
https://hivipunde.online/what-happens-to-cdf-money-in-kenya/
And here are the primary schools built by the former Kibra MP. Ken Okoth with the NG-CDF money which is the same amount as other M.Ps get.
It is an mazing story of what Imran Okoth did with the NG-CDF money in his Kibra Constituency in just five years from 2017 to 2022.
Should M.P Imran Okoth continue as M.P or move up to the big offices?
By Adongo Ogony July 18, 2022
Some of the work the Okoth brothers have done in Kibra constituency in Nairobi is beyond imagination. It is hard to believe that they have used the same amount of money all MPs get and done things that no other MP has done with the CDF money.
You can take ten constituencies together and add the development work the MPs have done in those ten constituencies and Imran’s work in Kibra will beat all of them combined.
The CDF is part of the national budget and the national government has no handle in it. That has to change for the good of the citizens whose money is being stolen by their own MPs.
NG-CDF is not part of the devolution money which is independent. It is money from the national government for the development of every constituency. That national government has to supervise and account for how that money is used to benefit Kenyans.
I came across some of the key public needs in our country that just stuns me when you consider that the national government gives out tens of billions every year as CDF to constituencies for local development for the last 19 years and now we also have the county governments with their own hefty budgets for the last 10 years.
These are the schools in Kibra built and equipped by Imran Okoth:
Mbgathi High School With the Sign NG-CDF KIBRA Proudly On the Wall
Students in a Classroom With Desks and Everything From the NG-CDF Money.
And Imran keeps building these schools and providing what is needed by the students inside that make them look like real places for young people to learn. They look like some of the best university colleges in the world.
School Buildings Under Construction in KIBRA Constituency.
Kenya gives more money for CDF than any other country in the world in proportion to our GDP. In fact Kenya gives more money to the CDF than countries which earn 3 to10 times higher GDP and of course every party in Kenya now wants to double the CDF. If every M.P could do what the Kibra M.P did Kenyans would be demanding that the NG-CDF should be increased.
It is the same country and the MPs are free to do whatever they want with the NG-CDF. You are a lucky student to be in a place like Kibra. Their is no supervision for CDF even though this is national government money.
And here are the primary schools built by the former former MP, Ken Okoth with the NG-CDF money is just five years.
This MP was building schools with the interests of the kids at the centre of his plans. Others paint walls to help the cover up their theft of CDF schools.
There is no unified code of standards and expectations on how our M.Ps can use CDF to bring opportunities for education and development for their constituents.
If we want a united country so bad and yes we do, how about a unified set of standards on how we use taxpayers and public money to support and build communities.
We could start this by simply setting up basic life needs for every constituency and county Namely
Water. Food. Health Facilities. Mobile Health Clinics. Electricity. Good Schools. Safety. Good Roads. Commercial Centres. Access to Banks. Land ownership in rural communities with title deeds.
Not too much. Those are a few things Kenyans want.
Kenyans do not know how much money we spend on CDF every year and what is being done with that money. That is where everything must start with CDF and all government funding and then go to County Budgets.
Kenyan people struggling to get good schools, to improve agricultural production and get anything resembling well supplied and managed health care centres and hospitals are being told to just shut up because now they have billionaire governors from there own counties. What more can they ask for.
The dialogue for counties should not be a forum to have conflicts and fights between the county leadership and the citizens they serve but should be a platform to develop how the counties can serve the people better and to identify other new sources of revenue for the counties.
At the end of the day the counties are the closest institutions of governance in our country and unless it works for the betterment of the living conditions and also creating jobs at the local then the whole idea of devolution can be declared dead and Kenyans will have to decide what to do next.
We do not need to wait until there are mass protests at the county offices all over the country which will happen if things are not sorted out for better utilization of resources provided to the counties including their own revenues from people in their counties. Let Kenyans be proactive and provide an avenue for the county governments to create a new format of governance where the citizens have a say on what can work better for them from the grassroot level which are our 47 counties.
In terms of healthcare that is now managed mainly by the Governors and county governments here are some good ideas for them to explore. It is possible for counties to offer world-class healthcare.
In terms of the use of NG-CDF money Kenyans in every constituency should constitute a group of people to visit every single project financed by their CDF money and bring that information publicly to the constituents.
Here is an article by Gachara Kamanga addressing health care needs in the counties he studied and the same concerns could apply to all counties.
By Gachara Kamanga | Jul. 19, 2025
Counties pour 80 per cent of health resources into level 4 and 5 hospitals, where only 20 per cent of the disease burden lies, while neglecting lower-level and community-based facilities that handle 80 per cent of cases. The 2023 Kenya Health Facility Census paints a grim picture:
In 44 counties, between 80–100 per cent of tier 2 facilities have fewer than three nurses. In Mt Kenya, Kirinyaga tops the crisis at 100 per cent, followed closely by Nyandarua, Embu, Laikipia, Murang’a, Nyeri, and Meru. In Nyeri, for instance, a staggering share of resources likely goes to the County Referral Hospital (tier 5) and four tier 4 facilities. This leaves 107 tier 2 and 3 facilities starved. That needs to change.
Imagine a system where we invest in those 107 facilities and strengthen community health units with trained, well-paid health promoters. Not the token Sh5,000 currently offered. With early diagnosis and treatment, we’d slash the cases that escalate into costly emergencies requiring dialysis or surgery.
This reform starts at three levels. Firstly, tier 4 and 5 hospitals need to be autonomous, professionally managed institutions. Recruit competent hospital managers competitively and pay them well, even if it means getting creative with compensation. Hold them to clear targets:
Cleanliness, customer service, data systems, drug availability, and even green recreation spaces. Let each hospital retain its revenue and specialize. One might focus on paediatrics, another on maternal health, and so on.
The county referral hospital (tier 5) would offer comprehensive care. Surrounding tier 3 facilities would form supervised networks linked to these hospitals.
Secondly, for tier 2 and 3 facilities, we need a proper ‘hub and spoke’ system. Build a few specialized tier 3 hubs with focused expertise, then link surrounding facilities (the spokes) to them through solid referral pathways. Let’s stop pretending we can do everything everywhere, as we’ll end up doing nothing well. Disease-specific specialization makes better use of limited human and technical resources.
Back to the dialogue and consultations, Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi had a few things to say:
“I want to sincerely thank Baba Raila Amolo Odinga because he has now said we should talk,” Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi to Kenyans.
Youth leadership call In a passionate appeal, the legislator challenged young people to move beyond apathy and take leadership in the national discourse, warning against being misled or sidelined.
“Let’s stop being fed with endless stories from here and there — we have the vote, and we have everything,” she said
Dagoretti MP’s appeal for the youth to engage actively in national discussions and dialogue about making things better for the young generation in Kenya and for everybody else is great.
But practically it will be better starting that dialogue within all our counties to develop better ways for development and job creation at the county level so they can be more productive instead of engaging in the dialogue at the national level with the kind of politics we have in our country today.
When the time comes for our country to engage in national dialogue for all Kenyans it will be done but right now the thirst for power and the race for State House will kill any national dialogue for consensus on things affecting our country. That time will come eventually but the country cannot wait for that and it is better to do meaningful things at the county level today.
At the national level of our politics as we speak right now the big opposition groups are in tears because they have nothing to talk to Kenyans about. The big God of the opposition, Rigathi Gachagua, is in the US doing tribal dances here and there while spending a whole lot of time walking with his wife Dorcas and sending those glossy pictures to Kenyans. Brilliant politics, isn’t it?
Now the war in the mountain is blazing and it is about who is funding the riots, looting and destruction of peoples’ businesses and public buildings and using Gen Z demonstrations as a cover for their criminal activities hurting Kenyans.
Kuria says Gachagua funded 2023 raid of Uhuru’s Northlands farm
Published on: July 19, 2025
Media reports tell Kenyans that Moses Kuria has come out guns blazing to respond to claims made by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during an interview in Boston, United States.
Gachagua, in an interview in Boston, alleged that Kuria and DP Kithure Kindiki paid goons – through former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga – to cause chaos during the recent spate of Gen Z-led Saba Saba mass activities in Kenya.
According to the (DCP) leader, the two Kenya Kwanza leaders are being used by President Ruto to cause disunity in the Central Kenya region, in a bid to presumably diminish his rising influence.
“I’m not insulting anyone but those people it seems that they gave their minds to Ruto. The recent violence was organised by Soprano (Kindiki) and Moses Kuria, the one who claimed he had resigned,” said Gachagua.
“If you saw the photo they took with him (Njenga) holding hands and laughing because they had planned all this. There’s no job that he (Kuria) resigned from, he had been assigned to disrupt and separate the mountain. These people are being used Ruto to destroy their own people.”
Kuria, in a response posted on the X platform, stated that his “guilt as charged,” adding that he learnt the political chess move from Gachagua himself.
According to Kuria, he personally witnessed Gachagua paying Njenga and his people to raid retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Northlands farm in 2023, during the opposition during opposition rallies at that time.
“Rigathi Gachagua has accused me during his tour of the US of funding and supporting Maina Njenga. I am guilty as charged. I learnt from the best. I was in the room when Rigathi paid the same people money to steal Uhuru Kenyatta’s goats from Northlands,” wrote Kuria.
The destructions going on today for which suspects are being charged in Kenyans courts has created a complete mess where many Kenyan businesses specifically those with huge supermarkets and small scale traders in so many parts of the country are having loses running into tens of billions and some of those affected have been reduced to complete poverty.
The opposition leaders supporting the alleged looting and destruction of peoples’ businesses are scared to pay for bail to get the charged people released from the courts because it may show who is financing the destruction of peoples’ source of life in the country.
Gachagua has invented his own stories and started wars with other politicians in his areas of alleged control whom he does not like.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki/FILE
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki dismissed allegations by Rigathi Gachagua that he funded violence during the recent anti-government demonstrations.
“Trap Man, did I hear you say that I paid rioters to cause violence and loot property during the recent demos? In my significantly long public life, I have never been associated with or accused of violence,” Kindiki wrote.
“I told you tuheshimiane, but your pride and uncouth habit of attacking people who have nothing to do with the mess you have created for yourself will certainly hasten you to get what you are looking for.”
Kindiki’s remarks followed claims made by Gachagua in Boston, United States, where he alleged that Kindiki received Sh60 million to bankroll a smear campaign against him and his allies in the Mt. Kenya region.
“They paid goons to cause mayhem and frame us for it so that the public would turn against us. But Kenyans are not blind; they can see through the deception,” Gachagua claimed.
Kindiki to Gachagua:
“Mr Trap Man, your brief and controversial political career has been characterized by hollow threats, arrogance, and a consistent display of incompetence.”
“While it is clear that your intentions are to distract and derail meaningful discourse, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the solemn duty of nation-building, as mandated by the responsibilities of our office,”
“We will still find the time to take you head-on and obliterate your petty and juvenile theatrics most spectacularly and decisively. You are gravely mistaken in your assumptions,”
On the ground Gachagua’s cronies have nothing to do and now they are focusing their energy in fighting the judiciary in Kenya because they are mad with the judges for not letting the rioters and so called terrorist suspects get out of jail for free.
Primarily we are talking about Kenyans accused of participating in the massive looting and destruction of properties and businesses as well as state buildings including police stations and court houses.
In the meantime Gachagua is meeting more flags than people in Boston and this is supposed to go on for two months and he could extend it to six months and come back home for Christmas. Oh dear.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua meets a section of Kenyans living in Worcester and Boston in the United States
At home Kalonzo is very busy opposing terrorism charges against suspects in destruction cases and spends most of his talking about not joining Ruto instead of taking their campaign to Kenyans now with Gachagua out of the country. What happened to the opposition rallies?
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Saturday rejected claims that he could be joining President William Ruto’s government, which he calls “rogue and criminal”.
During a function in Kamuuani, Machakos County, the former Kalonzo accused pro-government bloggers and social media users of spreading propaganda and vowed never to align with the current administration.
“They are making announcements everywhere that Kalonzo wants to join the government. That could never be me! Working with Ruto? Maybe another Kalonzo,” he said
When he is whining about not joining Ruto, the Wiper Party leader has come to the defense of the protesters facing terrorism charges, telling the Kahawa Law Courts that the state had overreached by prosecuting peaceful demonstrators under anti-terror laws.
Appearing during the arraignment of the protesters on Tuesday, Kalonzo said the charges do not meet the threshold for terrorism and urged the state to instead pursue a more measured legal approach.
To cover their ugly actions the opposition led by Kalonzo Musyoka in court want to call the looters as Kenyans who had their rights protected under Article 37 of the constitution to do whatever they did. If that is the case why are the politicians afraid to pay the bail money for them?
Basically Kalonzo has now become a practicing lawyer probably for the first time to represent those characters in court and he is now telling Kenyans that those who destroyed and burnt their properties and inventory were the peaceful demonstrators and should not be held accountable for whatever they did.
That is a disgusting insult to the Gen Z young Kenyans who have been on the streets without ever looting or destroying peoples’ property in since 2024. But for the likes of Kalonzo that is the politics they have been reduced to now.
Kalonzo has essentially become a free lawyer to defend Gachagua’s operatives in the courts while the big boy is in the US.
The rioting sponsors are trying to cover their behind by raising money online for those in court today.
Gachagua agenda in the US is to get Kenyans out there to help fund his alleged terrorists on the ground by paying for their bail and having extra money to fund their future activities in the same direction.
In Boston Gachagua appealed for even small contributions, especially within the diaspora community, adding that even $10, $20, or $100 could make a significant difference.
“This fight is not mine alone. I cannot do it by myself, and even the leaders back home cannot manage it alone. We need to come together,” he said.
“I will share the official DCP paybill number. Our party is credible; any support we receive, whether from the US or elsewhere, will be used transparently and for the intended purpose. These funds will help ensure that all our children are freed and can return home, while our lawyers handle the legal processes,” he stated.
“No one will be forced to give. It’s purely voluntary, but anyone who feels moved to help should know that their support will go directly towards freeing our children so they don’t continue suffering in remand.”
Many of those arrested now face serious charges, including allegations related to terrorism — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups and sections of the opposition who argue the charges are excessive and aimed at silencing dissent.
Put simply Rigathi Gachagua is asking Kenyans in the US to contribute to help those accused of committing acts of terrorism in Kenyan
You can bet that Gachagua is going to provide all the money needed for those facing charges some of whom were already being paid by him to carry out crimes against Kenyans and the same Gachagua will claim that online contributors have raised all the money needed now and more for those who engage in same actions next time.
LSK distances itself from fund drives for arrested protester
Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has distanced itself from fundraising activities being conducted by a section of Kenyans online to secure bail for individuals arrested during the recent protests.
In a statement released through its official X handle on Saturday, the society stated that it is not involved in conducting any such fundraising activities. It cautioned the public to verify the legitimacy of any appeals before making contributions.
“The LSK has received reports of individuals soliciting funds to raise bail for persons arrested during the recent riots. Please note that the recent fundraising drive is not being conducted or endorsed by the LSK national office,” the statement read.
The body emphasized the need for vigilance, warning Kenyans to be cautious of fraudulent schemes that may take advantage of the situation.
“We advise members of the public to verify any such appeals before making any contributions. Beware of fraudulent schemes. Stay vigilant!” LSK cautioned.
Among those who have publicly pledged their support is the Democratic Citizen Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua, who has pledged to support efforts aimed at securing their release.
Speaking during an interview in Boston, United States, Gachagua said he would share the official paybill number for the DCP to enable well-wishers to contribute towards legal fees and bail for the young protesters.
“I will share the official DCP paybill number. Our party is credible; any support we receive, whether from the US or elsewhere, will be used transparently and for the intended purpose. These funds will help ensure that all our children are freed and can return home, while our lawyers handle the legal processes,” he stated.
The other big nightmare for the opposition and other noisemakers in the country is that right now there are no demonstrations in the country and nobody is being killed by the government which means they have nothing to talk about.
Kenyans opposition leaders are dying for another big demonstration in the country and they are praying that a lot of Kenyans get killed there, including demonstrators or looters to give them something to talk about.
They could wait for a long time because the thirsty and politically bankrupt opposition Kings in Kenya has pretty much killed the Gen Z movement by trying to hijack it while also paying thugs to cause mayhem in the country so they can go screaming all over the place as the defenders of human rights.
As the situations stands right now Gachagua and his DCP as well as the Wiper types may have to wait for the next Saba Saba on July 7, 2026. That is a long to wait, isn’t it? The very thought of that is unbearable to them and could be pretty good for Kenyans.
It is a big problem for the opposition that without Gen Z movement doing something like a big demonstration in the streets they are staring at a blank paper which is what their program and plans to do anything for the citizens and the voters in Kenya actually looks like at the moment.
They may have to put some mud in that blank piece of paper and call it their plan for developing the country otherwise their movement could very well move from WANTAM to NOTAM.
