Since the days of Bifwoli Wakoli, Western Kenya has hosted an increasingly large number of certified buffoons who rise to occupy political office. The latest it would appear is Didmus Wekesa Barasa.
For a man who has a past in the disciplined forces, Barasa has a high penchant for indiscipline. Personally, or through an account manager he runs an X page where he comments on everything with gusto and particular bias for the mundane.
In his latest outburst Didmus Wekesa Barasa claims to have spoken to Juja MP George Koimburi before his abduction.
“A few days ago, Mp Koimburi called me via Signal call app, saying the police were after him over a land case. I advised him to switch off his phone and lay low for five days.
I was shocked to later learn he had staged his abduction and was “found” in a coffee plantation. Police now say the spot where he claimed to have slept showed no disturbance—he was likely there for just five minutes.
Looks like a scene straight out of Shackles of War by Cleophas Malala.
Let’s stop turning serious issues into cheap drama.” — Barasa tweeted.
Now, I cannot take an informed position on the Koimburi case, seeing that investigations are ongoing to establish the truth, but Barasa’s tweet is quite informative on what kind of communication goes on between our legislators.
Firstly, Barasa admits that he advised someone sought by law enforcement officers to switch off his phone and lie low. If Barasa was an ordinary mwananchi that alone could land him in jail for abetting a crime. But, he isn’t.
Secondly, he admits that he learnt Koimburi staged his own abduction. This should make him a person of interest in the ongoing investigations, since he was among the last people the victim called before learning he had abducted himself. Then he goes on in his typical sheepish fashion to invoke a play by tribesman Cleophas Malala.
Going back to the replies of all his tweets for almost a full year only one line of response sticks out: that he shot someone at point-blank range and his place is in prison and not X.
How does the legislator handle this negative publicity? Very well, I would say, he doesn’t shy of but takes it in his stride, although once in a while his mean streak shows through as he hurls back insults.
For someone gunning for gubernatorial position in 2027 Didmus Wekesa Barasa has an intriguing persona. He appears not to understand that Gen Z are determined to use his involvement in a murder as a constant reminder to put him down. And he’s not tactical enough to help them forget — compare the Babu Owino shooting incident.
At one point a few years back it appeared as if he was learning something; he announced on Twitter that he would take a sabbatical and would be offline for a while. That must have been advise from a professional digital media strategist — you don’t keep digging when you are already sunk in a hole.
Alas! Barely a couple of days later he resurfaced with a grand announcement that he was back to work for the people of Kimilili, ostensibly, on Twitter but met as much hostility, if not more, as he had when signing off.
Could someone advise the legislator that negative publicity is best countered with positive activity covering events involving him as a leader? Telling people about his domestic life as if he was some smalltime influencer yearning for attention is a big put-off.
Am not a voter in Kimilili Constituency but I would be alarmed if my MP spent such an inordinately high amount of time on social media, posting mundane stuff and asking for people’s phone numbers so that he can send them money for lunch.
Why the guilt? And are these handouts to non-Kimilili voters paying off?
Perhaps Juja MP George Koimburi called Barasa in the hope that using his contacts within UDA Party he may have been of help. Is it decent to parade such an exchange in public, at a time when the object of the exchange is in hospital and in great pain?
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