Kenya’s retiring President Uhuru Kenyatta has awarded his closer family members and Kanze Dena top honours 25 days to the general elections. Kenyatta has awarded his nephew Jomo Gecaga and niece Nana Gecaga top honours.
He decorated Jomo with Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart (M.G.H.) which is the third-class recognition of the highest honour in Kenya – the Order of the Golden Heart.
Jomo’s sister, Nana Gecaga was gifted with the second-class recognition under the third-highest honour – the Order of the Burning Spear.
Jomo works as the President’s Personal Assistant while his Nana was made the Chief Executive Officer of Kenyatta International Convention Centre (K.I.C.C).
He was awarded alongside Ndung’u Paul Ndiritu, former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita, Dr. Kihara Kennedy Waituika, Gakonyo Constance Wangui, Awori Florence, State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena-Mararo, Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu, Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola and Court of Appeal President Daniel Musinga.
The president’s assistant has been attracting negative media coverage for his numerous scandals with media girls and rent rows with his landlords making him the Posta child of controversies.
And in October 2020, President Kenyatta’s long-serving personal assistant was on the spotlight again. Jomo was facing evictions from a high-end apartment in Nairobi’s Riverside estate over rent arrears.
His family’s fell out with former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, the owner of Gem Suites Riverside apartments that costs $5000 per month.
Jomo risked suffering great damages and embarrassment incase Kidero used auctioneers to seize his assets and forcefully evict him from the Apartments.
Nana Gecaga the KICC boss recently celebrated 23 years since she began recovering from alcoholism. “It’s the 4th of July and everyone in America is celebrating independence day. But for me, it’s an extremely important day for me. I am 23 years sober today. I don’t take it for granted.
I know there are so many people out there struggling with alcoholism and I want to say, keep on going. The race is within yourself,” she wrote.
Gecaga once admitted that she was downing an entire crate of beer and a bottle of hard liquor daily. ‘’Well it was 24 beers that’s a crate a day and a half a bottle or full bottle of liquor,’’ she said.
There is nothing of substance that she has done to deserve a top State award. In 2020 she was is in the spotlight over millions of shillings that KICC owes suppliers.
Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) owed some 69 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accrued payments to the tune of Ksh211 million which was a sign of poor management.
Some of the debt dated back to 2015 when the companies supplied goods and services during the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 10th Ministerial Conference.
Elsewhere, Kenyatta University is also set to award elder sister, Kristina Pratt with a honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Casual).
According to the university, Mrs Pratt will be awarded for her services and contribution to people living with disabilities. Her conferment will be held on Friday, July 22, when Kenyatta University will be holding its 51st graduation ceremony.
Pandora Papers exposed Kenyattas’ offshore investments including firms with stocks and bonds worth $30m (£22m) in Panama, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other tax havens.
But the gifting of family members with top State honours and jobs is a dynasts’ thing. Sri Lanka which is in economic crisis at the moment had most of plum positions in government occupied by family members of former President President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lankan leader was recently ousted for triggering the current economic collapse in the South Asian nation which his family which has been ruling in different phases including 2019 when Gotabaya captured power.
That anger boiled over last week when thousands stormed the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee to Singapore.
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