Daniel Nyassy
16 November 2009
Nairobi — A number of foreigners are involved in a land syndicate to rob local people of beach plots in the controversial Chembe Kibabamche/Kilifi-Jimba area, Malindi MP Mr Gideon Mung'aro has said.
The foreigners whom he threatened to name in public on Jamhuri Day on December 12 are working in collaboration with the Malindi municipal council, he said. He warned them to keep off Malindi politics and land issues "lest they regret it soon" and instead urged them to concentrate on genuine investment. The MP who is a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Local authorities accused the council of corruption saying it had failed to account for Sh 52 million dispatched to the council under the Local Authority Service Delivery Programme (Lasdap) during the last Financial Year.
"The committee will soon descend on the Malindi municipal council and dig out the dirt. If the Parliamentary committee on Local Authorities finds that public money was actually embezzled, no one will be spared," he said.
An angry Mr Mung'aro said if public funds will have been misused, he would ask residents to stop paying tax "to the corrupt council". He accused the local authority of failing to mend a single road despite spending Sh 20 million recently adding that the foreigners were "deeply in the scandal". He urged residents to demand answers to questions on the usage of public funds adding that the funds under the MP's docket had clear records to show how they were spent. He encouraged residents to visit the CDF and MP's offices to peruse documents on how funds have been used.
The MP made the remarks at Watamu Seventh Day Adventist Junior School when he helped raise Sh 177,161.50 in aid of a laboratory on Sunday. He was accompanied by five councillors. He was reacting to reports that a section of the councillors had ganged up against him with a view to challenging him for the Malindi Parliamentary seat in 2012.
"I want wananchi to ask these councillors what they have to show for LASDAP. To me, they are a bunch of thieves and I will deal with them squarely. They had better be prepared for a real battle because I will spare none of them," he said during an interview after the meeting. He said the councillors were being sponsored "and misused by a few Italian land brokers" out to acquire land illegally and later sell it to foreigners at exorbitant price.
"They should know that there is a Ministry of Lands Task Force working on the Chembe Kibabamche/Jimba-Gede squatter problem. Let them not interfere with the work through illegal land acquisition because they might end up losing millions of shillings like other foreigners have before them," he said.
Relationships went sour five months ago when former mayor Mr Mohamed Menza whom the MP had supported for a second term earlier, was defeated by Sabaki ward councillor Mr Samson Mapinga who was also a close ally of the MP. A major fall-off between the councillors and the MP emerged when Mr Mapinga abandoned Mr Mung'aro after election and joined the camp of a renegade group of 10 out of the 17 civic leaders opposed to the MP.
he 10 councillors led by Mr Mapinga and Central ward councillor Mr Mohamed Aziz have been heard in several public places saying they would front one of their own to oppose the incumbent in the 2012 elections. A secret meeting of the opponent's camp two weeks ago however, ended in disarray when some of them disagreed over the idea of nominating one candidate to challenge the incumbent. Those in disagreement stormed out of the meeting.
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