By Hilary Kimuyu
Just
when you thought Kenya's endemic problems could not get any worse, the
country witnessed its fair share of scandals in 2017, mostly from the
political class.
Here are some of the ones that made 2017 a scandal-filled year.
1. Shebesh husband
gun drama - In November, the husband of former Nairobi Women
Representative Rachel Shebesh hit the headlines after he was admitted to
hospital after he reportedly shooting himself in the leg. Mr Franklin
Ambundo, 52, was later placed under investigation by the police over the
incident with his account seemingly not adding up.
Soon, speculation
was swirling on social media as to whether Mr Ambundo had indeed shot
himself are had been shot by someone else within his houshold. But
Shebesh later sought to set the record straight by maintaining that her
husband accidentally shot himself while routinely cleaning his Glock 17
rifle at their home in Nairobi. The truth about the incident, however,
remains unclear.
2. Sigiri bridge
collapse - Kenyans are used to collapsed buildings, but not Sh1.2
billion structures as was the case with Sigiri bridge in Budalang'i
sub-county, Busia County. Curiously, the Chinese constructed
mega-structure collapsed in June barely a fortnight after president
Uhuru Kenyatta visited the region to inspect it. While the contractor,
China Overseas Engineering Company (COVEC), later accepted
responsibility for the mishap, the incident only provided an opportunity
for apportioning of blame amongst the stakeholders.
3. Babu
Owino-Jaguar boyish romp in parliament - A churlish altercation between
two newly elected MPs, Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino (Embakasi East) and
Charles Njagua aka Jaguar (Starehe) within the precincts of parliament
captured public attention in early October for all the wrong reasons.
The two were caught on camera engaging in a noisy scuffle as
parliamentary orderlies struggled to restrain them. Apparently, Jaguar
had been angered by what he termed as Babu's disrespect to President
Uhuru Kenyatta.
4. Cholera
outbreak during Kenya Trade week - If two cabinet secretaries can
contract an infectious disease after intake of contaminated food and
water at a high end city hotel during a highly publicized conference,
then you only wonder what the kind of health risk the rest of the
citizenry are exposed to. In a classic case of closing the stable door
after the horse has bolted, the company offering catering services
during the event was later blacklisted and a certain hotel closed for
some time, but only after at scores of people delegated at the
conference delegates had been affected.
5. Deputy President
aka Baba Abby - Deputy President William Ruto has in the past taken
various monikers; from 'WSR', 'Hussein Machozi', 'Hustler', 'Yule
Jamaa', 'Willy' to 'Pastor'. But in early 2017 Ruto was christened 'Baba
Abby' on social media after a woman by the name, Prisca Chemutai Bett,
filed a lawsuit against him for child support. But if the incident was
meant to embarrass him, Ruto pulled a fast one by publicly claiming
responsibility over the child, leaving his detractors bereft of
ammunition to fire at him.
6. Diamond and his
innumerable baby mamas - While its not in doubt that he kept his fans
thrilled with several hit singles, bongo flava heartthrob Diamond
Platnumz also courted endless controversies with one saga after the
other of innumerable baby mamas. His sexual escapades put a great in his
relationship with his partner Zari Hassan, who also lost her wealthy
Ugandan ex husband.
At some point,
Diamond would admit to his philandering ways but the baby mamas and his
illegitimate kids kept crawling out of the woodwork, the latest being a
Kenyan woman by the name, Pansheni Salama, who days ago dumped a baby
girl at the Bongo flava superstar's doorsteps.
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