iMPACT NEWS

     He was among the pioneer Coastal politicians and a no- nonsense leader, sharp in his ideas as he was fast with his fists. In fact the only politician who could have matched Dawson Mwanyumba in those days was Paul Ngei who had also earned notoriety for spoiling for fights with those he disagreed with.     Mwanyumba made history as the only minister from Coast region in Jomo Kenytta’s first cabinet.    As minister for power and communications, he oversaw the ambitious expansion of the country’s electric power generating capacity in the 1960s, including the building of the 150 megawatt Kindaruma power station.    Undocumented reports say that at one time Mwanyumba locked horns with a leader in the provincial administration who was said to be at the beck and call of Kenyatta.    Mwanyumba was reportedly summoned to State House Nairobi where it’s said Kenyatta literally caned him till the minister cried out like a baby.   ...

There is need for continued enhancement of security surveillance in the country’s key installations to counter rising cases of terrorism and other crimes. According to KPA acting MD John Mwangemi, many countries have been required to make drastic advances in technology through integrated security management systems in order to deal with piracy and other forms of insurgency. In a speech read on his behalf by the KPA head of security operations Tony Kibwana during the passing out parade of 67 port security operatives at the Manyani law enforcement academy, Mwangemi said the authority remained steadfast in prompting a multiagency security approach to deal with traditional and contemporary threats. “Staff in security services department play a major role in ensuring security of cargo, vessels calling at the port, assets and security of the port community” he said. Mwangemi pointed out that so far 250 personnel had been trained on basic paramilitary skills within the last four years, as wel...

 

 While a number of scholars from Taita-Taveta County have made a name in government and private sector, the same cannot be said in politics, at least going by the handful of examples in the recent years. In 2007 Professor Morris Mbondenyi, then 38, made history by being among the few law dons from the Coast region to venture into politics. Mbondenyi was taking a stab at the Mwatate parliamentary seat on a Jubilee ticket to unseat the then ODM MP Andrew Mwadime. Prof Mbondenyi, at one time the deputy director at Kenya school of Law, was banking on his being a distinguished lawyer to articulate legal matters in and out of the National Assembly. However, he lost to Andrew Mwadime. In 2022 Mbondenyi made a second attempt at the Mwatate seat but lost to political greenhorn with little education, Peter Shake. His main rival in 2017 Andrew Mwadime left the parliamentary seat to vie as governor and won with close to 50,000 votes. It remains unclear if the eminent law professor has future ...

  As the dust settles on the just concluded general elections, voters in Taita-Taveta County could be celebrating or being remorseful over the outcome of the polls. While majority are celebrating the ouster of governor Granton Samboja through the ballot by the little known Andrew Mwadime, they should be ruing the reelection of senator Mwaruma. Despite the key role of senator being oversight, Mwaruma turned a blind eye to all the economic mess Samboja inflicted on this county as the governor’s acolytes and bootlickers licked the county coffers dry. The work of a watchman is to guard the property of their employer and if thieves break in and steal when the watchman is sleeping, the only recourse to justice is to have that sentinel sacked. Sadly Taita-Taveta voters have decided to stay put with their sleeping watchman, probably because they do not know how important the role of oversight is in guarding county resources. Though not on any clear records ,talk has been rife that it’s Mw...