It seems Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko crossed the wrong lane when he linked a former Education executive member Janet Ouko to the loss of millions of shillings meant for bursaries.
Former county Education executive Janet Ouko painted the picture in an exclusive interview with the Star yesterday. She resigned on Tuesday after working in Sonko’s cabinet for a year and two months.
Having been in the civil society, Janet has spent the last seven years fighting for children’s right to education. It was among the qualities that made her qualify as the Education executive in November 2017.
Ouko is a former national coordinator of Elimu Yetu Coalition, a civil society organisation championing the right to education.
Ms Ouko had said she was resigning to pursue personal interests even though a day later the governor accused her of overseeing a corrupt docket that misused bursary funds at City Hall.
Sonko claimed the former executive should take responsibility for the loss of Sh357.5 million in a bursary scheme meant for the city’s needy children.
“I will not tolerate any corruption case from the executives. If any one of them is involved in any, they will be charged and jailed.
The officials who benefited from the bursary fund will carry their crosses. There is no cat-walking when public funds go missing,” Mr Sonko said when he accepted her resignation on Wednesday.
The fiery governance and education rights advocate hit back, becoming one of the few senior executives at City Hall to publicly take on Sonko, questioning his leadership style at City Hall.
“You know there are people who behave like when they appoint you to a position it means so much, it is like they have married you, it is like they have given birth to you. That is not the situation. This is a job and the terms are very clear,” Ms Ouko responded to the governor.
A mole has whispered to Corridors that the flamboyant governor is in panic after Ouko threatened to expose him in the media. He has been making frantic calls to his close allies, begging them to reach out to Ouko to stop her plans.
“He called me because he fears Ouko is an activist and will embarrass him in public,” Sonko’s close ally said. It will be interesting to know the information the former CEC holds that appears to have touched the nerve of the tough-talking governor. Only time will tell.
The one man show by Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has exposed the underbelly of the revenue rich county after months of Public Relations and publicity stunts.
Revenue collection has dropped despite automation of various payments and claims of clearing cash syphoning cartels by the governor who has stormed offices of his staff and verbally sacked some of them. The revenue realised was only 58.7% of the annual internal revenue target which casts doubts on the county’s revenue strategies. The county has 178 revenue streams with the top five being land rates, parking fees, single business permits, building permits, billboards and adverts.