At Nzoani Secondary School in Mutha Ward, Kitui South, the kitchen is nothing more than a mud-walled shack with rusted iron sheets for a roof. Firewood sits beneath soot-blackened stones that serve as stoves, while smoke coils through cracks, choking the room. The walls are crumbling, the floor uneven, and there’s no storage — only despair.
Nearby stands a skeletal dining hall — roofed but windowless, with broken walls and gaping holes where doors should be. The toilets are tin-sheet cubicles perched over half-sunken pits — unstable, unsafe, and shameful.
This is not a scene from a war zone. This is a public secondary school in Kenya, where students show up daily, hoping to learn. But what greets them is neglect so deep, it’s almost policy.
“No child should learn here,” one parent told Channel 15 News. “We are tired of watching our children suffer in silence while leaders ask for votes again and again.”
Leadership That Looked Away
This decay hasn’t happened overnight. It’s unfolded over 12 years under the watch of Dr. Rachael Kaki Nyamai, the Member of Parliament for Kitui South since 2013.
Now serving her third term, Nyamai has twice aligned with the government side, enjoying access to national resources and influence. She currently serves on the President’s empowerment team targeting youth and women, claiming to be a champion of grassroots development.
And yet, Nzoani Secondary — a basic public school — still uses a kitchen made of mud. Its students still lack a safe place to eat. Its toilets are barely usable. Its classrooms cry for help.
So what has changed for the people of Mutha in her 12 years of power? Why should they trust her with a fourth term?
KSh. 2 Billion CDF Funds — But Where’s the Impact?
Since 2013, Kitui South Constituency has received more than KSh. 2 billion through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) — money earmarked for education, health, water, and community projects.
Despite this, schools like Nzoani are in total disrepair. Basic infrastructure remains unaddressed. Public development projects stall or vanish without explanation.
And the documents from the Office of the Auditor-General confirm what citizens have long suspected: the funds are either mismanaged, poorly tracked, or left unused.
What the Audit Reports Reveal
Channel 15 News reviewed multiple audit reports from the Auditor-General and found a disturbing pattern of underperformance and poor accountability:
For example in the financial year FY 2021/22 — KSh. 113.5 million transferred to schools without work plans while another KSh. 10.8 million was left unused in development accounts.
Key projects lacked monitoring, transparency, or completion updates. Auditor’s verdict: Qualified opinion, raising red flags on fund use while in th4 FY 2020/21 — Only 72% of budget was spent with Projects worth KSh. 45 million delayed or stalled.
Oversight reports showed poor documentation and weak controls with Auditor flagging low absorption of funds and incomplete implementation.
In the FY 2017/18 — Only KSh. 56 million out of KSh. 208 million utilized while Over 70% of allocated funds were unspent. To note Six key projects were either incomplete or abandoned.
KSh. 6.6 million sat idle in accounts since 2015, unused and unexplained.
Dr. Nyamai is expected to seek re-election in 2027 — her fourth term. But after three full terms, with billions of shillings at her disposal and government connections, what justifies a return to office when:
Millions are lost or left idle each year?
Constituents are still asking for dignity, not handouts?
If leadership is measured by action — not promises — then Nzoani Secondary School is a damning scorecard.
A Constituency Left Behind?
Education infrastructure Collapsing kitchens, dangerous toilets, unusable dining halls
CDF spending Over KSh. 2B allocated, yet schools remain dilapidated
Audit trail Missing work plans, stalled projects, idle funds
Political leadership 12 years of office, minimal tangible impact in key institutions
Re-election bid 2027 plans despite glaring gaps in past delivery
The tragedy at Nzoani Secondary School is not just about a crumbling kitchen or a missing toilet. It is the reflection of a larger problem — unchecked leadership, misused resources, and empty politics.
When students must risk their health to attend class, while their leaders attend forums and empowerment events, something has gone deeply wrong.
As 2027 approaches, the people of Kitui South must ask: If nothing changed in 12 years, what will another five do?
