Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has landed in the spotlight again, just months after unconfirmed reports suggested that her son was caught with a large amount of cash in the UK.
This time, it’s not about her family but about the pain of a small contractor whose life is crumbling after the county government allegedly refused to pay him for a project he completed.
According to blogger Cyprian Nyakundi, The contractor was hired to do work worth 2.38 million shillings at the Athi River Ward office.
He installed a gate, fencing, water harvesting systems and did electrical work. All the work was completed months ago. But to date, not a single shilling has landed in his account.
What started as a promising opportunity turned into a nightmare. He says that even before starting the work, some county officials demanded bribes.
He parted with more than 160 thousand shillings just to get the green light. After completing the project, he expected payment. Instead, he was given excuses.
In March this year, he was told that 1.94 million shillings would be paid to him. The money hit his account but was pulled back within days. County officials blamed it on a mistake from the finance department.
They later asked him to sign a letter admitting fault even though it was not his mistake. Then came another demand. This time they wanted an extra 100 thousand shillings to fix the payment issue. He refused.
Now, the contractor is staring at the loss of his home which he used as collateral for a loan he took to fund the project.
He went to court to stop the bank from auctioning his house but lost the case. The court said the bank followed the law.
Meanwhile, Governor Wavinya is busy calling on Kenyans to support Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka for State House.
Yet back home, small business people are suffering in silence. Many say Wavinya is quick to poke holes in others but goes quiet when real issues land on her doorstep.
Machakos residents are asking simple questions. Why is a man losing his home for work he did for the county Why is no one being held responsible What happened to servant leadership
The silence is loud.
