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Lost Cash a Grave Matter
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 08 July 2007 23:26
For a man who fought for the respect of the fundamental tenets of democracy, which include transparency and accountability, the saga over the disappearance of harambee funds now clouding his burial is a strange paradox.In the Third Parliament, Anyona was part of the fiery brand of MPs that former Constitutional Affairs minister Charles Njonjo termed the seven bearded sisters.
But Anyona seems to have gained new friends in death, though it is clearly difficult to know who really means well in the tussle.By Simon Nyachae's own admission recently, it would appear that while he lived, Anyona could not ideologically agree with the Nyaribari Chache MP. And this could explain why Anyona chose to remain in the Kenya Social Congress, even at a time when it was clear his Kisii backyard was falling under Nyachae's political weight.
Yet, when as patron of Chabumba Women Group he decided to organise a fund-raiser in 1987, it was Nyachae who was guest of honour.
In 2000, a group of politicians allied to Nyachae, including Mr Mwancha Okioma, the man who dethroned him in the last General Election, organised demonstrations in Kisii asking Anyona to explain the whereabouts of the money.
But in the current saga in which the Bonyamondo clan and Anyona's brother, Mr Stephenson Mageto, want the matter resolved before the former Kitutu Masaba MP is buried, a group of MPs led by Nyachae feels that the burial should go ahead, triggering speculation in Kisiiland.
Against all expectations, the matter could have serious political ramifications for some Kisii politicians. A leaflet circulating in Kitutu Masaba seemed to point fingers at a clique of MPs pushing for a quick burial.
On the day the body was taken to Kisii for a burial that never was, mourners carried telling placards. One read "Nyachae, Okioma and Abuya must produce Sh2.3 million belonging to a woman group in Kitutu Masaba".
It would seem that on the ground, Anyona's former constituents could be seeing a scheme to hush up the matter and let Anyona take the blame.
Indeed, accusations and counter-accusations are running high. Just after the 2000 demonstration against him, Anyona reportedly told his constituents he could not have been party to the misappropriation because he was not a signatory to the account. Ironically, it is the same line of defence that the pro-Nyachae group - now faced with the same accusation - are using.
Members of the women groups are saying that a Kisii politician, who had immense influence in the Moi Administration following the 1997 elections, used his position to coerce some group officials to make irregular withdrawals. The Police have since said that the last withdrawal was one of more Sh866,000 by the group's chairlady, who has since died. Could the women leader have been acting merely as a front for some politicians? It is said she was, in fact, a senior campaigner of one of the MPs now pushing for Anyona's burial, a claim the Nyachae camp strongly denies.
Questions now abound. Was there a link between the disappearance of the money, Anyona's mysterious death and his long illness? As per the court order, the burial should not take place until the issue of the money is resolved, a position that up to six Ford People MPs think is unfair to Anyona, a man who spent the whole of his life fighting for justice.
But the Anyona family and clan fear that should the burial take place ahead of the resolution of the matter, Anyona would be unfairly blamed and they may in future be asked to carry the cross. So much seems to be lost in the mist, and by the time the man will have been buried, serious political battles will have been fought over a matter that should otherwise have been simple and clear. Accountability!
