As the national debate on MPs’ development records intensifies, spotlight falls on Budget Committee Chair Samuel Atandi over dilapidated schools in his backyard.
A storm of public outrage is brewing in Alego Usonga Constituency, Siaya County, following the exposure of severely dilapidated schools, putting the area’s Member of Parliament, Samuel Atandi, who chairs the powerful National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee, directly in the line of fire.
The controversy erupted after lawyer Willis Evans Otieno shared stark, heartbreaking images of Uwasi Primary School’s classrooms, which he described as “frozen in 1988, untouched by budgets, speeches, or promises.” The pictures, tagging MP Atandi, showed crumbling walls, dilapidated roofs, and an environment wholly unfit for learning.
In a response that ignited rather than quelled the anger, MP Atandi dismissed the images as “propaganda” and posted a video purportedly showing the real state of the school. This move backfired spectacularly, triggering a flood of photographic evidence from other neglected institutions across his constituency.
Citizens and activists swiftly posted images of the ruined administration block at Nyadhi Primary School and the shocking state of classrooms at the once-prestigious Barding Boys High School. “This school was once among the best in Siaya and the entire Nyanza Region. Today, the classrooms tell a different story,” lamented one post.
The public criticism has been blistering and personal. Social media users have contrasted Atandi’s visible personal grooming with the neglect of schools. “The amount of money the brother spends weekly on facial scrubs and to fry that hair on his chin is enough to upgrade these classrooms. Kujipodoa is more important to Atandi than fixing classrooms,” charged commentator @anuarsaddat.
Cartoonist Kibet Bull Heisenberg posed a pointed question: “Why is Sam Atandi not building Classrooms Like Ndindi Nyoro now that he is the Chair of Budget allocation Committee?” This comparison references Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who has garnered nationwide praise for the transformative use of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NGCDF) to build and upgrade schools in his constituency.
Willis Otieno, in a scathing critique, captured the collective frustration: “Constituencies don’t run on protein shakes. Schools aren’t built with squats. Roads don’t emerge from selfies… We don’t discuss TUTAM without delivery. Development is not press statements, barazas, or weekend politics. It is classrooms, desks, roofs, dignity.”
This local uproar in Nyanza mirrors a growing national scrutiny on the performance of elected leaders in delivering basic education infrastructure. It comes hot on the heels of recent accusations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who called out MPs from North Eastern Kenya for allegedly failing to build schools in their regions and instead sending students to well-facilitated institutions in Central Kenya.
The juxtaposition is stark: as some legislators are being called out for failure, others like Ndindi Nyoro are celebrated for proactive development. This national conversation now places Chairman Atandi’s role under a microscope, questioning how a lawmaker with such significant influence over the national purse strings oversees such dire conditions in his own constituency.
While records indicate some NGCDF projects have been implemented in Alego Usonga, the persistent and severe state of schools like Uwasi and Barding Boys highlights a profound gap between political positioning and tangible delivery. The people of Alego Usonga are now demanding answers, shifting the debate from rhetoric to the tangible metrics of built classrooms and restored dignity for their children.
