County boss’ absence leaves staff in limbo

Migori deputy Governor Nelson Mahanga Mwita and the County Secretary Christopher Rusana are the officers now running the Migori county government in the absence of its Governor, Okoth Obado.

Senior staff including the county executive committee members, chief officers and directors are now consulting the duo on any official matters. Since the murder scandal emerged, Governor Obado has taken to a quite life at his Nairobi home with his mobile phones remaining offline, most of the times.

PHONE CALLS

He is only reached occasionally through the phones of his bodyguards.

“He wants to be allowed to rest and concentrate on clearing his name on this matter … we have been asked not to disturb him with queries on official matters, at least for now,” said a CEC member who asked to remain anonymous.

And since the abduction of Nation journalist Barack Oduor and subsequent killing of Sharon Otieno, the mood at the county government offices remains sombre.

Most workers at the devolved unit continue to stay away from their offices and discuss the matter in hushed tones in the streets and in their homes.

In the mornings, the employees are normally seen hovering around newspaper stands keeping themselves updated with the latest on an incident that has gripped the whole country and dominated national news in the past two weeks.

SUPPORT STAFF

The Governor's office continues to be manned by the support staff and secretaries as the gory incident continues to dominate talks in pubs, hotels and market places across the county.

Nation newspapers have become sell-outs in the region with copies getting finished as early as 10am.

Earlier, there was talk of unknown people buying the newspapers in bulk from vendors, perhaps to stop the readers from accessing their copies.

But this happened only on one day with the rest of days not reporting the unusual bulk purchases.

Mr Luke Owino, vendor, said they have been selling newspapers like hot cake since the story broke out.

"Even people who were not used to buying newspapers are now doing so on a daily basis," he said.

VILLAGERS' WAIT

Governor Obado has not set foot in the county since the scandal unravelled.

At his Rapogi home in Uriri sub-county, mean — looking security officers are manning the gates and nobody is allowed inside the home apart from workers and close relatives.

Villagers who sometimes passed by to take tea have been asked to wait “until the owner of the home returns”. The incident has shocked Mr Obado’s neighbours, with some hoping that “justice and fairness will prevail in the matter.”

“We are continuously praying for him and his family … this burden is too huge to bear,” said a neighbour Mr Josy Otieno.