Lobby group decries impersonation in alleged State House empowerment programme

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The Nairobi Abagusii Community Welfare Groups Association (NACOWEGA) on Tuesday held a media briefing at the Kasarani Police Station, accusing individuals of impersonating the group in a recent State House socio-economic empowerment programme where their name was allegedly used without consent.

Speaking at the briefing, the group said they were alerted after seeing their association listed online among organisations that allegedly benefitted from the first empowerment event held at State House on September 8, 2025.

The Group's chairperson, Mr Thomas Nyakundi Mayo, explained that this prompted immediate internal checks which confirmed that none of their members had authorised the use of the group name.

“We realised our name had been placed on a list going to State House, yet we never applied for any empowerment benefits,” Mr Nyakundi said.

He added that the group neither received nor inspected any of the catering equipment listed under their name, noting that they did not even know the type or value of the items.

“People accessed State House, collected equipment and used our organisation’s name, yet we have no idea what those items look like,” emphasized Mr Nyakundi.

According to the group, the matter was reported in August and has since been under investigation by the Kasarani DCI office, working with senior officers including the OCS and OSPD to establish how the impersonation occurred.

The Chairman stressed that they have no dispute with President William Ruto, saying their concern is the individuals allegedly misusing State House programmes to exploit communities.

“We want to help the President by exposing the criminals hiding inside these empowerment programmes,” he said.

The treasurer Bernard Mayaka further argued that while their group did not lose any property, the deception misled the Head of State, who may have believed the Abagusii community received items they never saw.

“President Ruto is the one who was misled, not us. Our community never got anything,” Mr Mayaka said.

They also appealed to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to help establish how their association’s name was allegedly processed through county offices before appearing at State House.

Mr Nyakundi insisted that other community groups in Nairobi were also affected, with members claiming they were promised items that never reached them.

He urged authorities to move swiftly, saying vulnerable women and youth in the estates continue to suffer while others use empowerment programmes for personal gain.

“This issue should never happen again. We want to work with President Ruto and Governor Sakaja to ensure those behind this scheme are exposed,” said Mr Nyakundi