Luanda MP, Vihiga Assembly speaker lock horns over development track record

Vihiga County Assembly Speaker and former Luanda MP Chris Omulele.[Nathan Ochunge, Standard]

Luanda MP Dick Maungu and his predecessor Chris Omulele have clashed over their development track record as leaders.

They have been flexing muscles even in funerals and public barazas with each accusing the other of incompetence.

Maungu and Omulele who is the current Speaker of Vihiga County Assembly also exchange barbs on social media.

In the last two months, the two leaders have been washing their dirty linen in public where accusations and counter-accusations flew between them.

Mr Omulele decided to throw on the gauntlet last weekend during the burial of Mzee Javan Haggai Omondi at Esibeye Secondary School in Mwibona where he accused the current MP of spreading falsehoods to discredit his development track record.

Omulele, who served as Luanda MP for two terms before his current role between 2013-2022, in vernacular dialect, said "We don't have a school in Luanda constituency that doesn't have my classrooms.  These projects you are seeing did not spring up overnight. You can't walk around saying I did nothing during my tenure."

"I initiated most of these projects you are seeing. I have storey buildings at Esiandumba, Mumboha, Esibeye and Khwiliba among others. I didn't start them because I want to live in them but for learners. The people of Luanda deserve better than these baseless accusations," said Omulele.

He seized the opportunity to address the controversial 2022 election, which saw him lose his parliamentary seat to Maungu.

Omulele insinuated that the election was marred with irregularities and that Mr Maungu should focus on delivering to the constituents rather than engaging in political mudslinging.

"Mr Maungu, in 2013 and 2017, you did not vote in Luanda, you have no business to tell me anything. I left the seat in peace and didn't go to court to challenge your victory despite having sufficient grounds to overturn your victory. Just work quietly and let your record speak for itself," Omulele told the mourners.

The County Assembly Speaker told the MP that he had no moral right to discredit his development in Luanda during his tenure since he was not even a registered voter in the constituency.

"Mr Maungu voted for the first time in Luanda in 2022, he never voted here in 2013 and 2017. He has no right to ask Luanda people what I did for them during my tenure," said Omulele.

But in a swift rebuttal, Mr Maungu dismissed Omulele's claims, terming them baseless and aimed to get cheap political publicity.

Maungu told The Standard in a phone interview that Omulele was taking credit for ongoing projects initiated under his current term.

“I respect my predecessor, but it is dishonest to mislead the public. The projects we see today are the fruits of my hard work and dedication since I assumed office. It is unfair for anyone to claim credit for what they did not accomplish,” Maungu said.

He went on: "Let Mr Omulele tell us in 10 years between 2013-2022, Luanda received Sh2.4 billion. What did he do with the money? How many bridges and schools did he construct, how many students did he take to school on full scholarship, and how many roads were built? The answer is nothing. I have evidence he did nothing."

The MP bragged that in two years, he had constructed 23 bridges, started five new schools, gave out bursaries and scholarships to over 25,000 students, saying Mr Omulele should show them what he did in 10 years.

According to the first-time MP, he has been forced to allocate afresh money to projects that Mr Omulele started despite the funds allocated to the projects having been spent to the last cent.

"He started a storey building for Mumboha secondary school, the projected was allocated Sh54 million and when I  took over as MP, the project was 70 percent complete but Sh53 million had been already spent and only Sh1 million was in the account. Where did he take the rest of the money," wondered Maungu, adding, that the other three-story buildings he started are 15 percent complete but the money allocated is nowhere to be seen," said the MP.

On rigging him out in the last polls, Maungu told Omulele that he had the opportunity to seek redress in court but he did not do it and therefore he should wait for another heavy defeat in 2027.

"I defeated him with a cool 3,500 votes but come 2027, I want to defeat him with over 10,000 votes," he said.