6 Controversies That Got Sports CS Rashid Echesa Sacked

The firing of the Sports and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa comes as a relief for a majority of Kenyans who have had to follow the numerous scandals the CS, whom little was known about before President Uhuru gave him a job as the sports CS on 26^th January 2018, has been captured in.

There has been very little to admire from the now Ex-CS who goes down in history as the first CS to get fired in President Uhuru’s second term.

Echesa who has been in office for barely 13 months was born in Shivale, Mumias, Kakamega in a family of 8 children. Echesa’s father was a charcoal burner while his mother sold bananas. Echesa had to get a job as a casual laborer at Mumias Sugar after his formal education due to lack of school fees.

In the 13 months that the now former Sports and Heritage CS had been in office, he has managed to leave a foul legacy and a track record marked by failures while the scandals he has been involved in leaves an image of a mere criminal.

It was no secret that sports stakeholders felt that Echesa’s tenure in the Sports docket was nothing close to okay leave alone impressive. CS Echesa failed to implement the Sports Fund which was part of the Sports Act 2013 despite the act having been enacted into law during the tenure of Hassan Wario, his predecessor.

In the tenure of CS Echesa, national teams and athletes have decried lack of financial support during preparations for major competitions which greatly affected their morale and performance.

Construction of sports stadia during Echesa’s tenure have continued to stall as deadlines remained verbal.

1. President Uhuru Openly Reprimands Echesa

During President Uhuru’s tour in the Nyanza region where he was accompanied by Honorable Raila Odinga, Echesa faced the President’s wrath following a sorry state of the mausoleum of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

A visibly irritated President Uhuru Kenyatta reprimanded the then CS Echesa in the presence of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga.

“Wewe kazi yako ni kungoja wikendi ifike halafu unaenda kwa kila matanga kutusi watu. Hiyo sio kazi ya waziri. Hio ni kazi ya wabunge. Ni Kama hujui kazi yako.” (You wait for weekends where you attend every funeral insulting your rivals. That is not the work of a CS. That is the work of politicians. You don’t seem to know your job description) Uhuru fumed.

2. CS Echesa Exchange with Moses Wetangula

CS Echesa, in not so many words accused Moses Wetangula of having sold One thousand acres of land belonging to Mumias farmers in Busia for 40 million shillings.

Wetangula was angered by the accusations An angry Wetangula responded; “Rashid mimi nina watoto rika yako na mimi hujibizana na Uhuru na Ruto sio watoto rika yako…” (Rashid I have kids your age and I only argue with Uhuru and Ruto not kids your age.)

3. Echesa Fights Raila Odinga

In what seemed as throwing tantrums after he was reprimanded by President Uhuru in the presence of Raila Odinga, Echesa was quoted throwing jabs at Raila.

Echesa swore in a public rally to never call Raila”Baba” and dared the ODM leader to sack him. “I want to dare you Tinga wherever you are, come and sack me, kuja unifute. Kama ni wewe appointing authority Kenya hii, come and sack me please. I have a very young family to look after…” Echesa was quoted.

“Now Raila Odinga is going round holding meetings with Western leaders, telling them that President Kenyatta wants Rashid Echesa out of Cabinet because he supports Ruto. Please, Raila give me a break. I am not your equal,” the ex-CS was quoted creating an impression that Raila was out to get him fired.

4. Trafficking of 8 Pakistani girls

Eight Pakistani women, on 4th January, who had been flown into Kenya through the help of Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa were deported by the Immigration department.

The eight were suspected to have been victims of human trafficking and were in the Country as belly dancers.

5. Echesa Hires Journalists to Photoshop Senator Malala’s nudes

In a below the belt move that saw three journalists get arrested, CS Echesa paid to have Kakamega Senator Malala’s head cropped in a porn video that went viral.

Alex Njue, Stafford Ondego, and David Ndolo, who worked for top media houses in the country confessed that they had been tasked to do so by the then Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa for a fee of 5000 shillings.

The nudes were circulated on social media prompting the arrest of the three journalists who faced disciplinary action at their place of work when very little was done to Echesa.

6. Echesa Linked to Waswa’fake president’ con artist

The Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been linked to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s impersonator, Joseph Waswa alias Henry Waswa, a con artist.

Echesa went ahead to confirm that Waswa the con is his personal friend, probably drawing the last nail on the death of his career.

Oblivious of the weight his friendship to the con artist held Echesa even posed, “what is wrong with me being a friend to somebody?” Well, there is a quote he needs to have learnt ‘show me your friends and I will tell you your true character’.

Waswa has also been linked to a 32 billion shillings fake currency and fake gold which was nabbed at a house in Ruiru, Nairobi. It is yet to be verified whether Echesa had a hand in the saga too.