MPs Cry Foul Over Sh3000 Village Elders Payout As Murkomen Admits Some Chiefs Picked Friends And Kin

Members of Parliament want a say in how village elders are picked and paid. Their push has sparked a fight to control the 106,000 officers serving at the grassroots as Kenya heads to next year’s General Election.

Only three months have passed since the elders began receiving a monthly allowance of Ksh3,000. Legislators now claim that people who served communities for years without pay were left off the government list.

They say some chiefs and administrators who identified the elders favoured relatives and friends. The matter came up on Wednesday during the question time session in Parliament.

Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss said an elderly woman serving in Langas was deliberately excluded because the County Commissioner did not like her. She added that many similar cases exist across the country.

Kajiado South MP Samuel Parashina asked Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to explain the criteria used. Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu said unpaid elders were the most affected after the allowance was announced.

Murkomen said the government expected stiff competition for the positions. He noted that it has become prestigious to be a village elder and that some people only claim the title.

He promised to release the records of all elders at county commissioners’ offices so that residents can verify who qualifies. He said Safaricom’s M-Pesa had paid 96,566 elders through the Tunza Vijiji system.

The details of the remaining elders were returned for correction because names did not match identity card and phone numbers. Murkomen said the update would be completed within one month and arrears would be paid.

President William Ruto launched the village administration policy in August. It formally recognised the elders and brought them into the national administration structure. The system now has 106,072 village elders and 9,144 assistant chiefs and 4,008 chiefs.

https://x.com/Taifa_Leo/status/2119293842558206182?a=Aerr-0o3jdbekWwJjck&s=19

Ondusis feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com