Extortion or Oversight? Senator Sifuna, MP Babu Owino, Muthoni Ouko on the spotlight after attacks on Governor Sakaja
The recent attacks on Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and former Nairobi County Executive Committee Member for Education Muthoni Ouko have largely been attributed to, reportedly, the governor’s refusal to give in to demands of giving financial favours painting a picture of extortion plans disguised as oversight.
Sifuna, in a recent interview attacked the Governor taking a swipe at the roll-out of the ‘Dishi na County’ school feeding program which was started in 2023 by the Sakaja administration.
The Senator, who was among the ardent supporters of the ‘Dishi Na County’ program has appeared to take a U-turn on the program now claiming that the program is marred by malpractices including irregularities in the supply chain. Sifuna claimed that the the food supplied is good quality but the program has some county government officials supplying goods for the program contrary to procurement procedures.
Sifuna falsely claimed that county government officials have been supplying the rice and cereals while others provide transportation but our investigations revealed that no county government was doing business with the Dishi na County program and the law out-rightly prohibits County Government workers from making supplies to the county.
However, details have now emerged that Sifuna, his friend Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Muthoni Ouko have been out in an extortion scheme on the governor as well as seeking irregular tenders which the Governor has refused to offer.
On her part, Muthoni Ouko has reportedly entered into the fray with revelations of a slump in her business in which she provides lunch to some Nairobi county schools, which she established alongside her brother during her tenure as the Nairobi County Education CEC.
Reportedly, her business has taken a downward spiral getting negatively impacted by the successful roll-out of the ‘Dishi na County’ school feeding program which was started in 2023 by the Sakaja administration and now feeding nearly 200,000 children in public ECDE and primary schools.
Muthoni last year went to court in a bid to stop the program before her prayers to the courts were thrown out paving the way for the roll out of ‘Dishi Na County’ program.
Rumor-mill within the epicenter of city politics have pointed fingers on Sifuna and Babu Owino accusing them of sparking the recent conflict with Governor Sakaja after Sakaja allegedly refused to succumb to their alleged attempts at extortion.
Sources suggest that both Babu and Sifuna have repeatedly sent intermediaries to the Governor with demands for financial favors which have at all attempts being rejected.
Just recently, Sifuna attacked Governor Sakaja over the reopening of Uhuru Park questioning why the park was still closed to the public yet renovations of the facility have been concluded.
The spat from the senator, over the closure of Uhuru park, has however been interpreted as another ploy to publicly arm-twist Governor Sakaja into silencing him, and his cronies Babu Owino and Muthoni Ouko by giving in to their extortionist demands.
