Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo has been asked to come clean on allegations that she benefited from the Sh 7.1 billion Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) scandal.
A group calling itself Isiolo Young Democrats said since the allegations were leveled against the Senator that a local company associated with her had been given a tender worth Sh 18 million by Kemsa to supply facemasks and sanitizers she had not issued any clarification on the issue.
“As aspiring young leaders we want our Senator to come clean on these allegations as we believe she stands for transparency and accountability,” Mr Salim Wario, a spokesman for the group said.
These followed allegations made by a communications officer at the Isiolo County Government, Mr Abdi Hache, who later recorded a statement with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the issue.
Mr Wario also called for an end to politics of “self-aggrandisement” saying the senator was antagonistic against other leaders in the County adding that her poor relations with other leaders were undermining development.
“We are concerned about the Senator’s antagonistic approach to issues in Isiolo County and we want her to change her approach or we are going to wait until 2022 and deal with her at the ballot,” he said.
Mr Wario said Senator Dullo has been undermining Governor Mohammed Kuti, and other leaders noting that such differences did not augur well for the development agenda of Isiolo County.
In May last year, Governor Kuti and Senator Dullo clashed when the governor appeared before a House committee for grilling on audit queries.
The governor was appearing before the Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee to respond to audit queries raised by Auditor General Edward Ouko on the county’s spending during the 2017-2018 financial year.
During the session, the governor accused Senator Dullo of being an impediment to his development plans.
Ms Dullo had demanded to know why the governor signed a Sh433 million deal with a foreign firm to manage healthcare in the county.
The senator was a vocal opponent of the deal, which would have seen the firm take charge of three sub-county hospitals for four years before it was stopped by Senate and Treasury.
Responding to the question, Dr Kuti accused Dullo of being the reason the project he described as “noble” and “impactful” failed to take off.
His remark did not go down well with the senator who tried to interrupt him leading to a shouting match before the committee’s chair, Senator Moses Kajwang’ restored order.
Mr Wario said such public display of differences between Isiolo County leaders had led to development stagnation and called for a ceasefire between them so as they can focus on improving the standards of living of the area residents.