1. THE TRICKS AND TACTS OF UHURU’S GIRL
Ms Anne WaiguruisKenya’sPresidentUhuruKenyatta’s top minister, aide, strategist and friend rolled
into one. The plump, single lady of 38 displayed her remarkable faculties this week when she was
summoned for grilling by the finance committee of parliament.
Kisumu,Kenya’slakeside cityisthe cradle of political stone-throwing in the republic. But over the time
theyseemtohave graduated fromthe lowlyactivitytobeingsmoothpoliticaloperators. So when Anne
Waiguru was under siege for corruption claims some of them came out demonstrating in her support,
without being stoned into disarray.
Anne Waiguru claimed in an interview that she is not a politician but a technocrat. But perhaps
unknown to her, she is a politician par excellence and no technocrat but a tenderpreneur. The lady
seemstobe fast adoptingtechniquesandstrategiesthe opposition has been employing over the years
to confound the government, with considerable success.
When Waiguru first got into trouble about the theft at National Youth Service (NYS), she mobilized
demonstrators from Kibera slums, most of them those in her youth payroll, to demonstrate in her
support.Unfortunatelyforher,the Kibera hard-core backers of opposition chief Raila Odinga have not
outgrowntheirtraditional stone throwingpastime,sothey confronted the pro-Waiguru protestors and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Because the matter became so hot, Waiguru took a breather and went to Bogota in South America for
three weeksfor tempers to cool off. Again it is a well-known technique in Kenya. Kenyans are used to
gettinghugger-muggeraboutanissue and offera short period, they tend to forget it entirely, picking a
newoccupationinthe latestagendalike stormingtraders’liquorshopsorrailingatthe opposition’s evil
schemes.Butthistime rounditdidnot happenlike that.A committee of parliament dealing with labour
summonedWaiguru forgrillingMPs.Butina political sleight of hand it turned out that a committee on
finance and planning, which is essentially in her docket, was the one placed forward by parliament to
grill her. This was going to be a do or die for the ambitious young lady. So she summoned her abilities
with the crowds as she had done previously. So a committee of about 20 MPs was flooded with 60 or
more MPs claiming to be “friends of the committee.” It happened that most of these MPs were tribal
dogs of war that turned up to drown opposition views in meaningless shouts, finger-pointing and
filibuster.Waiguruendedupbeing an innocent witness as her supposed grillers shouted at each other
and almostgoingfor one another’s collar. She savoured the situation wondering what on earth power
and influence cannot do. The occasion ended in disarray.

2. The disgrace of that day went to the opposition’s most shameless MP, Ken Obura who, though being
dumbin parliamenteversince he wentthere twoyearsago,triedhardto outdothe government MPs in
backingWaiguru,as didhiscounterpartTimothyBosire.The heroof the day no doubt was the debutant
MP for Ugunja, Mr. Opiyo Wandayi, who single-handedly faced off with 80 odd MPs, showing them
where they exactlydidbelong,apolitical wholesale market. They had been compromised to come out
and frustrate the proceedings against Waiguru and the chairman became a helpless spectator in the
Kangaroo proceedings.
Mr. Opiyo Wandayi, although forced to walk out, displayed political quality very akin to that of the
formerMP for KitutuEast,the late George Moseti Anyona,whomthe doyenof KenyaeditorsMr. Hillary
Ng’wenolovedtorefertoas“the one-manbackbench”in parliament. Opiyo did as best he could as his
fellowoppositionMPsledbyObura bayedfor hisblood,atthe behestof theirmasters. Opiyo’s tenacity
and wit portrayed parliamentary opposition at its best.
Anne Waiguru had to run off and cool her breasts at Bogota because, initially she bungled the whole
thing by backing the bogus companies her ministry traded with in terms of millions of dollars. The tax
recordsof these companieswerenil,assome of themwere registered just after the scandal broke out.
One of themwhichwasregisteredafew monthsearlierturnedout to be equally bogus, as it was found
to have been registered on a date which was Sunday, a non-working day in government offices.
Needlesstosay,all the directorswere one andthe same for all the companies.Then Waiguru defended
themto the hilt,justifyingthe millionsof dollarstheyhave beenrakingfromthe National YouthService.
No wonder the service demanded Sh. 25 billion this time round.
Thisstate of affairscannotbe the workof a technocrat.Technocratsknow the buck stops with the boss.
So paymentsof millionsof dollarswouldnotgo withoutcapturingtheirattention. How can a technocrat
give outa tenderwithoutconsideringthe compositionof the directorship,date of registration,periodof
existence, taxation records? How do you pay 20 million dollars to someone who pays no tax? Waiguru
surely has more to tell us.
The lady stickstothe narrative thatshe is the one whoblew the whistle about the theft. How come the
government has now introduced a warning that any civil servant who leaks a government scam would
be sacked,when in the past they have been considering reward for such players? Of course Waiguru’s
case haschangedeverything.Hadshe blownthe whistle, therewouldhave beennoneedforthe Central
Bank to write analertto the NYS.Asfor the talk that nomoneywaslostand her timely action ended up
savingthe countrySh. 826 million,lether gotell ittothe birds.No one can be fooledthatthisis the first
time they were doing it.

3. It is obvious that as matters stand Waiguru cannot be trusted with managing public resources and she
had better quit and join politics. There she can operate more successfully renting mobs and
manipulating leaders. Luckily for her in Kenya nobody cares whether you brought down a bank or
defrauded NYS. When it comes to elections people forget such issues and elect you according to the
depthof your pocket,yourcharismaand yourrelationshipwith yourpartyleader.Because Moses Kuria,
the MP forUhuru’s GatunduSouth,isclose to Uhuru, he got elected.But listentowhathe had to say to
a group of youths surrounding him with machetes; “I have supplied all the youths with pangas. Any
youth who comes to see me must come holding a panga. And those pangas are not only for cutting
grass. If you meet anyone who is opposed to NYS cut him up and finish him off.”
The central Kenyapoliticiansseem to be in a hurry to shore up community passion by taking lessons in
demonstrations,hiringmobs,incitement,breakingshopsandbusinesses,asthe people lootanddrinkin
great euphoria.Itisa dangeroustrend thatcan go out of hand.As they say, always, the buck stops with
the boss, Uhuru.
BY:
FREDERICK OWINO OYARO
Email: frederickoyaro@gmail.com