KISUMU, 17th January-Kondele Ward Member of County Assembly, Joachim Oketch, has launched a scathing attack on leaders from the Nyanza region, accusing them of abandoning their primary duties to obsessively champion President William Ruto’s two-term agenda at the direct expense of service delivery.
In a fiery address at a town hall meeting on Friday, Oketch vowed that while the region would abide by Raila Odinga’s directive to support the broad-based government, leaders appointed to senior positions must be held accountable for tangible results.
“We are in the broad-based government where Baba Raila Odinga left us, but we cannot afford to spend 90% of our time singing the ‘two-term’ chorus yet our people are stuck with children at home who are supposed to join Grade 10 and other higher learning institutions,” Oketch lamented.
His comments underscore a growing frustration with perceived politicking amidst pressing socio-economic crises.
With the next general election only 19 months away, the MCA issued a stark warning to its colleagues.
“We are all headed to seek a new mandate from the electorate and every leader will be judged against his or her scorecard. Right now, besides Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, who has consistently prioritised the welfare of his community, other leaders in several senior positions have nothing to show,” Oketch stated.
He challenged these officials to urgently shift focus from political manoeuvres to empowerment programs that directly impact the lives of the electorate.
“Those privileged to get appointments must prioritise the welfare of our people. Their primary occupation now should be pushing for more empowerment programs, not political survival tactics,” he added.
During the meeting with new recruits of the Rotary Vocational Training Institution, Oketch unveiled a practical intervention; a Sh 500,000 exam fee kitty to support needy students.
“This support is about keeping students in class by bridging the financial constraints faced by many parents,” he explained, highlighting the critical barrier that costs pose to technical education.
While calling for localised empowerment, Oketch lauded President Ruto’s national ‘Nyota’ youth program, urging its swift implementation in Nyanza.
He pressed for direct engagement with youth already in enterprise, stating that synergy between national initiatives and grassroots urgency is vital.
The Kondele MCA’s outburst signals rising internal pressure within the Nyanza political bloc, framing the coming months as a decisive period where leaders must deliver concrete development or face the voters’ wrath
