Wambora reveals people who wanted him out of powers, how Sakaja wanted him to hang up his political boots

Embu Governor Martin Wambora has it all, doesn’t he? The County boss has managed to walk through a slippery but bumpy political road! Do you remember the two impeachments he survived? Well, Wambora narrates his journey, and how he managed the impeachment.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with a local daily, Wambora recalls that the people who wanted to remove him from leadership are poor leaders.

“The people who wanted to remove me are poor leaders. If it was a better person, I would not mind. But if I knew it’s a leader who just wants power, prestige and to access resources, I could not leave wananchi to the lions, to the carnivores to be torn apart,” he says

He recalled that after his impeachment, many politicians including then TNA chairman, Johnson Sakaja, called to ask him to hang up his political boots. But he told them all off.

“I did not care who is going to ring me. Anybody who tried I told off. Hii kiti si ya mama yako (this seat doesn’t belong to your mum).This seat belongs to wananchi.”

The tussle for the control of the county was so vicious Wambora says then Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and ex-Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Lenku separately warned him about his security.

The warning made Wambora, a veteran provincial administrator, to live a secretive and unpredictable life.

“They told me Governor be careful. Don’t always be in your house. Be careful where you eat,” he recalled the chilling warning. “I have been security chairman as District Commissioner for Baringo so I knew the realities and what they were speaking about,”

Embu Governor Martin Wambora during an interview with the Star on February 1, 2019. /JACK OWUOR

“You avoid night meetings, completely. Don’t announce your route of travel. Just appear in a place and do what you are going to do and move on.”

But he admits the impeachment periods was a difficult time.

His lowest moment was when the courts barred him from going to his office for a record two months. His wife and children remained his pillars of strength.

“They would tell me dad don’t worry, you know you are a good person. You are the best dad. We know you are honest. We have not seen anything you have taken from the public,” the father of two girls said.

According to Wambora, millions set aside for the tarmacking of the 12.7km Kibogo Road, which cuts through the most productive areas of Embu, was diverted at the time.

He says the money was shared by greedy MCAs and some unscrupulous county government staff under the guise of grading roads.

Wambora was impeached for allegedly violating the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 and Regulations 2013, the Public Finance and Management Act and the Constitution.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *