Oparanya’s failed projects now come back to haunt him

The dramatic raid on the homes of former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and his subsequent arrest by sleuths from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has shocked many in Kakamega county.

Oparanya is held in high esteem in Kakamega where his supporters refer to him as “Baba County”.
The former governor is credited with propelling Kakamega from a mostly rural county to a modern, semi-urban devolved unit.

Some of his high points include improving the region’s road network, healthcare, provision of clean water, and bursaries for students in local and foreign learning institutions.

He is also credited with promoting sports and ramping up revenue collection.

Some leaders from the county cried foul yesterday, saying Oparanya’s arrest was purely political and had nothing to do with corruption.

“Oparanya performed very well as our governor leaving a legacy that will take years for any other county chief to surpass. I was, thus, shocked when I was told that he and his wives had been apprehended over corruption,” said Butere MP Tindi Mwale.

While he won praise in some quarters, Oparanya also had his share of alleged financial scandals when he served between 2013 and 2022.

Senate summons

They included Sh200 million that was released by the county government to bail out cane farmers owed by Mumias Sugar Company which was, however, allegedly swindled.

Boni Khalwale who served as senator between 2013 and 2017, accused Oparanya of embezzling the funds and declared that he would run against him in the subsequent election.

He did, lost and remained in the cold until 2022 when he won back the Senate seat.

Khalwale always had run-ins with Oparanya whom he accused of looting public funds using cronies.
The then Governor was summoned by the Senate a couple of times to respond to Khalwale’s accusations but skipped some of the meetings, accusing the senator of witch-hunt.

Another project which became a bloat on his legacy is the Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital which gobbled billions of shillings but is yet to be completed.

Oparanya care

This forced the county administration to hand over the project to the national government for completion amid accusations that funds had been embezzled.

So is the Bukhungu Stadium that is yet to be completed even after billions of shillings was spent on it.
Khalwale accused the former governor and a Kakamega-based businessman of misappropriating some of the funds which led to stalling of the project.

“There was widespread misuse of public funds in Kakamega but no one dared talk about it except me. We also have many pieces of public land that have been grabbed in Kakamega town and its environs,” he said.
There was also the “Oparanyacare” program in which mothers who had delivered in public health facilities would receive a stipend amounting to Sh2,000 each.

Khalwale claimed the programme was used by some county staff to steal money from public coffers.
There was also the “One-Cow” initiative in which dairy animals were purchased and donated to selected farmers in a bid to boost milk supply in the county.

The initiative came a cropper even after hundreds of millions of shillings had been spent.
Oparanya’s lifestyle could also be subject of audit due to claims that he amassed vast wealth in the ten years that he served as governor.

The alleged properties include multi-million-shilling homes in Kakamega, Kisumu, Nairobi and other parts of the country, investments in real estate and hospitality industries, among others.
But one of his lawyers, Ken Echesa, insisted yesterday that the former county chief had acquired his wealth legally.

“Hon. Oparanya acquired everything that he has through the right channels and never diverted public resources. The ongoing harassment is purely political,” he said.