Corridors of Power

Tuesday, 08 March 2011 00:02 BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY

A meeting last week between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and retired President Moi’s son Gideon has peaked the curiosity of Corridors.  While little information was forthcoming about the agenda of the meeting, a little bird has whispered to us that the two discussed ways they could work together to reduce the influence of Eldoret North MP William Ruto in the Rift Valley. But the question is: Can Gideon convince his father to work with Raila?
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A motorist who rear-ended Kilome MP Harun Mwau's Ranger Rover along Parklands Road in Nairobi got out of his car, knelt on the hot tarmac and lifted his hands to beg for mercy. The man, who was clearly in the wrong, wept saying he had too many problems. Instead of insisting on having the man arrested for causing damage to his car, Mwau drew Sh50,000 from his briefcase and gave it to the motorist, telling him to go sort out his problems.
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Police investigating the multibillion-shilling gold consignment smuggled from DRC are between a rock and a hard place. Reason? One of the 15 people they are interested in questioning is a member of a prominent political family. The cops are worried that if they call her to question, she might have them sacked or worse!
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We hear that DRC President Joseph Kabila nearly caused a scene when he insisted that President Kibaki address a press conference to announce that the government was going to arrest the two top men behind the gold smuggling racket. Kabila had reportedly given the names of the two to Kibaki and wanted them announced as one of the conditions to be met to show Kenya's commitment to deal with the issue. Kabila is said to have refused to leave for JKIA to take a plane back home until this condition was met. It was then agreed that Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua would address the press but the DRC team refused saying Mutua was not respected by the local journalists and they wanted someone more senior. The DRC team was only mollified when told Internal Security minister George Saitoti would address the matter at a press conference.
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A senior cop is ruing his decision not to retire last year. The man who had pleaded to be allowed to work for one more year has found himself in the glare of unwanted publicity over the DRC gold smuggling racket. The man cannot wait for July 1 to retire without a blemish being cast on his record.
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A well known former District Commissioner who has been redeployed as an Under Secretary is among scores of Gor Mahia fans who are being investigated for football hooliganism. The man is suspected to have been inciting the other fans.