The people of Isiolo County have been treated to Senator Fatuma Dullo’s baseless and alarmist allegations from time to time since the second devolution administration took office in 2017.
The allegations she made in the senate recently is nothing new coming from her, this is her go-to strategy whenever her actions come under the lens of the public.
So how can the senator justify her concocted claims of her life being in danger because, allegedly, a concerned citizen filed a civil case in a court of law to challenge the senator’s role in oversight and how far she is allowed(by law) to ‘harass’ the devolved administration of the day.
The people of Isiolo have gone out to the streets on numerous occasions to oppose what they called ‘the senator’s personal interest meant to obstruct development and thereby deny locals employment opportunities which could have sufficed from such projects.’
That is how a majority of the local population understand the senator’s shenanigans; personal pursuit of interest which has nothing to do with oversight.
It should be understood that despite being the senator for Isiolo, Dullo is obliged to serve the nation at large. She was not elected as a prefect of Isiolo to be monitoring every little detail going on in Isiolo, past and present, across all the three devolved administrations that have governed Isiolo. Where is the sense in that?
It is also noteworthy to understand the fact that the senator has been at the senate since 2013, when the first devolved administration took office. She was also there from 2017-22 as an elected senator. When the senator is raising issues that she should have raised in 2019 or thereabout, it is a clear demonstration of failure on her part.
Most of the matters that Governor Guyo is being coerced to address are issues dating back to as far as 2013. These are matters which in all sense have been overtaken by events. The Senator is therefore holding, not just Guyo’s regime, but the entire people of Isiolo at ransom. This must cease and with immediate effect.
The Senate’s Power to Summon a Governor Should be Exercised Only in Extreme Circumstances
How many times have we heard the National Assembly summon the president to address issues that happened during Mwai Kibaki or Uhuru Kenyatta’s time? The answer is NULL! The president is busy implementing his own manifesto and his agenda for the people of Kenya.
While there seems to be a legal lacuna as far as the role of the senate is concerned, especially with regards to their powers to summon a governor at will, several days a week at times, for issues that are trivial and could have been addressed amicably with junior officers.
As far as this is concerned, the onus is on the Council of Governors(CoG) to enact a bill to be presented to the national assembly for the relevant amendments to be made. This will go a long way in saving the nascent devolution structure which is under serious threat because of insincere legislators like Senator Dullo who are using or should I say misusing the otherwise hallowed house for their own political gains.
Senator Dullo, in her wild allegations, which she could only make from the safety of senate because otherwise, she stands to be sued for libel and defamation, gives reasons why she things someone is after her life because apparently some ten or so county officials met at certain location to discuss her.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with county officials meeting to discuss anything, including even discussing her and how to address her damaging actions against the people of Isiolo.
Secondly, the senator is indeed demonstrating that it is the so-called county officials lives which are in danger, because why would the senator be following or sending whoever she is sending to follow the county officials she is referencing? This should be treated as a serious breach of security for county government officials and concerned authorities should take note.
It is also obvious that Dullo’s claims are concocted because if she had such amount of evidence as she says regarding the imaginary plot, why didn’t she report such a serious matter regarding her security to the relevant authorities, which in our country is the Directorate of Criminal Investigation-DCI? Is she afraid that her allegations would be dismissed as ‘hot air’ which is actually what it is?
In conclusion, I can only appeal to the senate to reimagine their role for the greater good of the nation and in saving the devolution which is a sacred responsibility that lies within their realm.
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author.
