Former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala on Sunday, January 15, warned Kenya Kwanza Members of County Assembly (MCAs) who are supporting Governor Fernandes Barasa.
He remarked that he was disheartened to see Kenya Kwanza MCAs tagging along with Barasa, who was elected on an Azimio ticket in the August 2022 polls.
Malala further blamed the MCAs unity as one of the reasons Kakamega will not enjoy the fruits of devolution.
“I get very disappointed when I see MCAs, especially from Kenya Kwanza always following Barasa around.
“They attend burial ceremonies with the governor and sing his praises all day long,” the former lawmaker lamented.
Malala claimed that it was because of the close relationship between the governor and county assembly that Kakamega was lagging behind economically.
“The work of an MCA is not to support the governor in all he does, instead, an MCA is supposed to be critiquing the governor and playing an oversight role
"That is why the governor has not even issued bursary for needy children because MCAs are sleeping on their job," an agitated Malala complained.
He drew parallels to when he was an MCA stating that he never congratulated former governor Wycliffe Oparanya. The two never saw eye to eye.
“When I was an MCA, you never saw me praising Oparanya, the governor back then.
“If I saw Oparanya doing something good, instead of congratulating him, I would tell him to work harder,” he explained.
On the August 9, 2022, general election, the Azimio coalition trounced their Kenya Kwanza counterparts by winning 49 out of 60 elective MCA seats.
Additionally, Azimio got 14 nominated members to the county assembly while Kenya Kwanza got 6 nominated MCAs.
Cleophas Malala who was competing against Fernandes Barasa for the Kakamega gubernatorial seat lost with 159,508 votes while Barasa garnered 192,929 votes.
Malala’s statement was made the same day President William Ruto warned Kericho MCAs against being obsessed with power.
“I can see some MCAs are still fighting for power, I am not impressed with that.
“Think about serving the people, shame on you, it is not time to fight for power,” a visibly angry Ruto admonished MCAs while addressing residents of Bomet on Sunday, January 15.
