Mandago Gets Heat for Stirring Up Trouble
No one person decides elections in a real democracy, he said. Claims like that encourage people to be scared, play favorites, and form groups that mess with voters’ choices.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
Ex-Governor Jackson Mandago, now a Uasin Gishu Senator, is getting called out for playing divisive politics. Critics are saying his confrontational style is bad news for unity, honesty, and democracy, both in Uasin Gishu County and the bigger Kalenjin community.
Human rights guy Kipkorir Ngetich put out a statement on Friday telling Mandago, a big shot in the area, to cool it with the personal ambitions and try to bring people together. Ngetich thinks the current vibe needs calm, open-minded leadership focused on getting things done, not squabbles and grudges.
Ngetich isn’t happy with Mandago constantly bashing the current Governor, Jonathan Chelilim. He thinks it looks like political jealousy, not a real interest in being open and honest. Ngetich says it’s fine to criticize, but it should be based on facts, honesty, and actually caring about the people.
Honesty is key, and you need proof, Ngetich said. This looks more like trying to take down the current guy to help himself.
The activist also pointed out that Mandago’s acting like Mr. Accountability while dealing with some bad allegations himself, which could mess up his political future. Ngetich says it’s risky to start fights when you’re in that situation, and it could make people trust him even less.
He brought up past reports from the Auditor-General about Mandago’s time as governor, which had a bunch of red flags like messing up money, losing funds, weird spending, and possibly messing with how the county’s money worked. Ngetich says these are still out there and raise questions about how things were run during Mandago’s time.
Ngetich says Mandago was governor when counties were getting a ton of money after the 2010 Constitution. The county should have been doing great with all that cash, but Ngetich claims people are stuck dealing with the results of lost money and shady deals that hurt important services.
People have every right to ask what happened to the money back then, Ngetich said. He added that the Auditor-General’s findings already make it hard to take Mandago seriously when he questions other leaders.
Ngetich is also worried about stories of weird stuff going on with assets that were passed down from old local authorities when counties were created. He says if those stories are true, it could be a way of ripping off the county’s people.
The activist also slammed reports that Senator Mandago’s been going around telling people running for office that he controls who wins and that they need his okay. Ngetich calls this dangerous and not how democracy works.
About Author
