Irate residents of Old Town Mombasa on Wednesday, May 20, drove out their MCA from a section of the area after they accused him of failing to deliver on his mandate since they elected him.
The MCA, Murfad Amoury, had visited the area to engage members of the public regarding the Covid-19 relief fund set aside by the county and national government to cushion the residents from the pandemic.
In a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the angry residents accused Amoury of misappropriating the funds meant for the public and doing little to help residents in the course of the pandemic.
His visit attracted a crowd of residents that berated him for apparently fooling them into voting for him, while totally disregarding the social distancing rules with few caring to wear face masks.
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"It is the right of every Kenyan to know how their money is appropriated. You are a councillor [sic] and you were involved in the decision-making process. This is how you are stealing from Kenyans. We have Coronavirus in the country, markets are closed, and these are schemes you have devised to rob Kenyans.
"We gave you five years, now you want to convince us into giving you more. You will not get even one more,"
"Old Town has more than 20,000 people, there are only 4,000 job opportunities. We have women, children who are going to school. So what can those jobs do for us," one angry residents lamented, before driving the MCA out of the area after he was unable to address them.
Old Town was placed under lockdown by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 6, 2020, after the area recorded a high number of Covid-19 infections as well as fatalities in the country.
Residents from the area were accused of openly defying the given directives of social distancing, and notably the failure to avail sanitisers and handwashing facilities in business premises.
Area Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Nassir in a phone interview with Kenyans.co.ke on May 9, 2020, had revealed that his office, along with the County Government of Mombasa had moved to ensure that residents of Old Town were cushioned against the negative effects of the partial lockdown.
Noting resistance to the implementation of the directive, he stated that several measures had been taken to ensure that the Mombasa residents were safe, and the spread of Covid-19 was stemmed.
Nassir revealed that the county government had set up a clinic inside Old Town, and the market was reopened for area residents, and water being delivered to them.
Through the course of the pandemic in the country, questions have been raised on the management of Covid-19 funds by leaders in the country.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) boss, Twalib Mbarak, on April 28, 2020, issued out a warning to all governors regarding the utilisation of Covid-19 emergency donations.
He had stated that the Commission would closely monitor how the Covid-19 Fund was being spent and that they were watching county government executives tied to the procurement processes.
"We are telling them that they must account for all the money that they have been given as a result of the campaign against this pandemic.
"As EACC we'd like to pass a message to county bosses, the governors, and the executives. We are monitoring how this money is being spent, focusing on the prioritisation of needs, the procurement processes, conflict of interest," Mbarak had warned.
