There was drama at the private home after wife of Kisii County Governor, Simba Arati, mishandled a chief officer in the county whom he threatened to be “sent into a darkroom” where he’ll not see life again.
The governor’s wife, Mei Arati, is alleged to have molested the chief officer for tourism, Prof Justus Nyagwencha Nyamweya, for allegedly supporting the one-term crusade against President William Ruto re-election bid.
She also accused the American trained professor of science of allegedly supporting the presidential candidature of former Interior Cabinet Secretary, Dr Fred Matiang’i, which she is said to have described as a non-starter.
Prof Nyagwencha who is an IT guru and cyber security expert, left his job in the United States to work at the County Government of Kisii. He was reportedly frightened by the threats of being thrown into the “darkroom” by the governor’s spouse.
Those present during the altercation include the county’s Deputy Governor, Elijah Obebo, chief officers and county executive committee members of various departments.
Neither Obebo nor the other officers reportedly failed to intervene in the incident that reportedly lasted two hours as the professor was humiliated and reduced to nothing in front of the Chinese lady, who is married to the combative governor.
“Although we have tasted the woman’s excesses in the past, Prof. Nyagwencha’s case was very scary because we feared she would unleash goons who always hover around the governor’s home to harm the professor,” said a top official at the governor’s house and who requested strict confidentiality fearing for his position as well as his own life.
One of the chief officers who was present and who also requested anonymity said: “We signaled Prof Nyagwencha not to say anything even if she slapped him. With his background from the U.S., the professor is known to speak his mind and if he attempted to do that, we’d have witnessed a tragic outcome. It was very scary, especially when she threatened to send him into the darkroom.”
“In the past, we only witnessed the lady confiscate mobile phones from chief officers and demanded passwords to access private WhatsApp communication.
We’ve also witnessed situations where she would slap an officer who didn’t execute her directives, especially when it comes to certain issues to do with money.
The case of Prof Nyagwencha was worse because she kept on and on and insulting him….and what was strange is that when she started the meeting as she always does, the governor deliberately sneaked out into a separate room and left us at her mercy,” added the chief officer.
The incident, which happened a few weeks ago has rattled Kisii town residents who have demanded that the governor transfer the conduct of official duties from his private home in Motonto village, Bobasi Constituency, back to the officially gazetted offices in Kisii town.
James Morwabe, a Kisii town businessman said that it was illegal for the governor to conduct his official businesses at his home where public issues are apparently being managed by his wife.
“We didn’t elect both the governor and his wife in order for her to act as a co-governor with her husband,” said Morwabe.
The chief officers who spoke to us expressed fears for their lives, with one of them confiding that there are a large group of armed goons who patrol the governor’s home and that they can easily harm a public official who may be viewed as not following the script of the governor’s wife.
A few years ago, the governor’s wife molested a chief officer and confiscated his phone, accessing his personal text messages with a woman who was not his official wife.
“She slapped the CO and asked him for his wife’s phone number so that she would share the text messages. The CO went down on his knees and begged her to spare his family. She had him demoted from an influential docket to a less colorful position,” said the CO.
Another CO described Motonto as “a slaughter house” where any officer who does not execute their mandate is harassed by the governor’s wife during meetings, particularly if she directs payments to be done in a manner she wants and the CO fails to comply.
“Normally, she is the one who dictates who should be paid and who should not be paid. If a pending bill in a certain department has not been approved by her, but you go ahead and pay it, you’ll see a very long day,” said a CO who has been attending her meetings.
“Mei is the substantive governor. The governor himself is just a figurehead. That’s why the official government business are executed from Arati’s private home and not in the officially gazetted office in Kisii town,” said the CO.
Another chief officer lamented that the county had lost in its development mission because a foreigner who doesn’t understand the needs of Kisii people was the one dictating how money is spent.
“We are powerless. Many people don’t understand why many chief officers have resigned in this government. It’s because they refused to kowtow to the harassment of this Chinese woman,” said the CO, who also requested not to be named.
“She’s very powerful. The governor is at her mercy. She’s the one who convenes meetings, scrutinises financial books and removes budgetary allocations to areas where she has interests. You guys don’t know why the former County Executive Committee Member for finance resigned….it is because he was being told what to pay and what not to pay by this woman.”
A CECM who was present when Prof Nyagwencha was being harassed and humiliated pointed out that since the new regime took office about four years ago, more than Sh10 million meant for development in the county cannot be accounted for yet it was returned as an unspent allocation.
“Ask yourself why don’t every year at least Sh3million is purportedly returned to the National Treasury from Kisii as an unspent allocation, yet we have many areas of need where that money could have been spent. We hope the senator will look into this issue if he knows his oversight role.”
Contacted for comment, Prof Nyagwencha said he was not ready to discuss what transpired in Motonto but could not deny or confirm he was molested.
“I’d rather not discuss about that incident. I am doing my work to serve the people of Kisii County,” said the CO before switching off his phone.
