Dennis Onsarigo leaves his position as Chief of Staff for Nyamira County.
Dennis Onsarigo, a former investigative reporter for KTN News, has left his position as chief of staff for Nyamira County.
Onsarigo listed several grievances in a letter dated January 10, 2024, including unprofessional workers, unsightly restrooms, and an inability to get in touch with Governor Amos Nyaribo via phone.
“I am deeply saddened to announce my resignation from the Chief of Staff position at the Governor Nyamira County office,” said Onsarigo, the former press secretary for the Orange Democratic Movement.
He went on, “It was also not possible to renovate the governor’s office and construct a contemporary lavatory to prevent us from having embarrassing panic attacks when we have a lot of guests.”
According to Onsarigo, he was irritated by the lavatory improvements as they excluded women visitors and employees and neglected to include essential features like running water.
The unfavourable atmosphere made it difficult for workers as well.
In his complaint, Onsarigo said, “I have come across what can best be described as a deliberate strategy that has imposed itself in the way of service delivery and impeded our ability to fully realise our vision.”
It is alleged that he attempted to address significant problems within his jurisdiction at the county office, but the governor would not meet with him to address the concerns.
“I attempted—more than six times—to have an appointment with you so that we could go over a detailed plan outlining the ideal operation of the senior staff office. Regretfully, this did not come to pass,” Onsarigo continued in the correspondence with Governor Amos Nyaribo.
The former journalist went on to say that he made an effort to make the governor more comfortable by giving him a backup car and additional security.
“It hurts so much that a plan I had to put in place to make sure you were comfortable and secure was a top priority fell through,” he said.
He said that the public uprising was the result of widespread financial mismanagement in the area. He further said that several employees purchased their way into positions with the county.
He then on, “I wanted to give you a briefing on the widely held belief held by the county civil service and county office employees, which has endured intense mistrust, outright rebellion, and, for the most part, entertained the notion that they are being used as conduits of syphoning public funds.”
He said in the letter that he had made over six attempts to get the governor’s attention to talk about how to implement his manifesto and enhance working conditions.
“Sadly, this did not happen,” bemoaned the journalist and media strategist who is well-known for the investigative documentary Case Files.