Report By Ndira Uradi In Kisumu City

Mega land scandals in the Kisumu Municipality has reached its climax following the disclosure early this week by the Town Clerk that his life was in danger following threats issued by fellow senior chief officers of the Council and other stakeholder.

The Town Clerk Christopher Odhiambo Rosana, a man who is well known for his tough administrative prowess and management expressed fears that his life was in danger and alleged that he had threatened by some senior Council officials.

At the same time two senior officials of the Council were summoned to the district CID offices in Kisumu where they were reported to have recorded statements with the police. There has been some disquiet and complaints to the effect that senior council officials and some unscrupulous civic leaders in the lakeside City were involve in rampant corruption in regards to illegal sells and allocation of land plots.

As the result of this illegal transactions involving public utility land, Council houses and all available land pace in Kisumu, some of the officials and their accomplices have become millionaires overnight.

At first it was thought that the civil leaders and the chief officers wanted to deplete the town of its prime land for the future development and expansion a head of the arrival of the County governance. The have so far left the Lakeside City with no land space for future development, especially industrial expansion and housing development schemes. Almost e every single piece of land in Kisumu has been sold to either individuals or to the rich individuals. And those suspected to be involved in the scam are said to have minted millions of shillings.

The issue has been in the public domain for a couple of years. Insiders now say that Kisumu is a City with no land for both business and industrial expansion. All the land available including the one belonging to Kisumu Municipal Council as well as its house has been sold.

When he arrived in town about three months ago and took over as the new Town Clerk, Mr Odhiambo Rosana had introduced stringent administrative rules that requires all members of the staff to account for their activities and to disassociate them from any kind of land transaction. This has seen many senior official getting cautioning letters while either have been reprimanded to mend their ways, other faces suspension pending investigation to establish their involvement in the “Mega Land Scandal”.

These stringent measures have earned the Town Clerk many enemies within the same institution. And on Monday this week, Mr Rosana reported to the Kisumu CID that he had received several calls threatening his life.

The Town Clerk is reported to have rubbed his working colleagues the wrong way by having revoked some land sales and allocations, which he felt were irregular in terms o hr law governing such allocations and transaction and had instituted investigation or revoked them altogether.

Instead of the wronged plot owners seeking legal redress through the established courts of law, they have resorted to using oblique techniques of issuing threats to the Town’s Chief Administrator. What has so far not been divulged to the public is the stance of the Mayor Coun.Sam Okello whose administration has witnessed one of the worse land scandals in Kisumu ever since independence in 1963.

Mayor Okello is said to be enjoying the patronage of the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga and he is a an ODM nominated Councilor who had contested the election in Muhoroni on a KANU ticket, but after he was beaten hand down by the current Muhoroni MP Prof Patrick Ayiecho Olueny, was later imposed on the elected civic leaders in Kisumu against the amid vehement opposition by the elected civic leaders under the pretext that he was an industrialist and businessman magnate in the Coastal City of Mombasa and would import his experience to to create business opportunities and good investors environment in the City. Raila had to intervene personally in order to have Mayor Okello’s re-elected for the second term last year when civic leader were coerced to vote for him or the second term.

Rosana said that his concerted effort to fight corruption and restore sanity in the Council could be the reason why he he is being threatened.

He added, “It is true I have been getting threats and some of them have gone as telling me to go slow over several issues. I suspect they are unhappy with my management and want to scare me out of the Council, “ said Rosana.

Land Minister James Orengo is being accused of presiding over the most corrupt ridden Ministry. In some outpost’s districts such as Migori, Homa-Bay, Kisumu and Siaya corruption is still thriving. Some of the land officers and district surveyors are acting as if they were magistrates and judges, at time even conspiring with the interested parties in blocking court’s directives.

Ends