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Groups to Get Higher Loans in Makueni County Empowerment Fund Phase 2

Kibwezi West | 12th November 2026

The County Government of Makueni has kicked off Phase Two of the Makueni County Empowerment Fund (MCEF), with initial beneficiary groups graduating to higher funding limits as new groups begin accessing the interest-free loans.

Ngwate Kwoko Self Help Group in Kikumbulyu South Ward, comprising persons living with disabilities (PWDs), and Mulala Disability Group from Emali Mulala Ward each received KSh65,000, up from their initial KSh50,000 allocations during the pilot phase.

Ngwate Kwoko engages in farming, poultry keeping, beekeeping and other income-generating activities. The increased funding is expected to strengthen the group’s enterprises and improve members’ livelihoods, with the funding limit progressively growing to KSh500,000.

Another beneficiary, Ndwae Ngone Andu Makwa Women Group from Kikumbulyu North Ward, received KSh50,000, becoming among the first new groups to benefit following the countywide rollout.

Speaking during the cheque handover, CECM for Gender, Children, Youth, Sports and Social Services Eng. Sebastian Kyoni commended the groups for embracing the programme and urged them to utilise the funds prudently to expand their economic activities and achieve financial independence.

The MCEF programme, driven by Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s vision of an economically empowered and self-reliant Makueni, seeks to unlock grassroots potential, support community enterprises and promote inclusive economic growth through accessible, interest-free financing.

Following the roll out, the County targets 900 community groups across all 30 Wards.

Eng. Kyoni was accompanied by MCA Jades Kalunda and other county officials.

๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐จ ๐…๐š๐œ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐“๐จ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐‹๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐‹๐ž๐ ๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ฌ

๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ก, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ~ Families across Makueni are set to benefit from improved access to justice as the County Government steps up efforts to help residents navigate land succession processes and secure rightful ownership of inherited property.

Through the County Attorneyโ€™s Office, the ongoing exercise targets wards that did not meet the previous programmeโ€™s registration targets while also addressing outstanding documentation and clarifying succession requirements.

The initiative will further support registered beneficiaries through legal representation in court to facilitate succession proceedings.

The exercise is currently taking place in 20 wards across the county aims in bringing legal guidance closer to residents.

๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข, ๐’๐š๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐จ๐ฆ ๐‘๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐„๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐…๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ƒ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ ๐€๐ก๐ž๐š๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ž ๐‘๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ

Nairobi | 10th November 2026 -Makueni County Government officials on Tuesday engaged Safaricom to review and strengthen the Makueni County Empowerment Fund (MCEF) digital platform following a successful pilot phase that ran from June to October 2026 and benefited 41 community groups.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review lessons and challenges from the pilot, with Safaricom’s technical team presenting updates on improvements to the fund’s digital platform.

Key areas of focus included document uploads, network stability, repayment functionality, dashboard accuracy, SMS reminders, loan portfolio management, ward-based reporting and monitoring of group performance.

Leading the Makueni delegation, CECM for Gender, Children, Youth, Sports and Social Services Eng. Sebastian Kyoni said the county targets to reach 900 community groups across all 30 wards, with 30 groups per Ward benefiting from the interest-free financing programme. Each group will access an initial KSh50,000, with the borrowing limit progressively growing to KSh500,000.

The engagement seeks to address outstanding technical and operational gaps ahead of the countywide rollout, ensuring efficient fund management, accountability and easier access for beneficiary groups.

The initiative reinforces Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s commitment to economically empower women and youth, promoting entrepreneurship and strengthening household livelihoods. Kyoni was accompanied by Chief Officer for Gender, Children and Social Services Catherine Katuti, among other county officials.

๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข ๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐“ ๐‚๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐’๐ž๐ž๐๐ฌ ๐“๐จ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌโ€™ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ

Makueni County has launched 795 kilogrammes of Bt cotton seeds worth KSh 3.18 million, targeting 530 farmers across eight wards in a renewed push to revive cotton farming and boost agricultural incomes.

The seeds, supported by the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry (MITI), will cover 530 acres, with each farmer allocated one acre. The initiative targets an estimated production of 350 tonnes.

Launching the programme on Tuesday morning, CECM for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development Japheth Mangโ€™oka said Bt cotton offers improved yields of up to 700kg per acre, compared to 250โ€“400kg from conventional varieties, while resisting bollworm and reducing pesticide use.

Beneficiaries are drawn from Mavindini, Nguu/Masumba, Mbitini, Ivingoni/Nzambani, Mtito Andei, Emali/Mulala and Masongaleni wards. Through a contract-farming arrangement, Makueni Ginneries Ltd will partner with the Department in seed distribution, extension services and market access, providing farmers with a structured route to market.

The initiative reinforces Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jrโ€™s commitment to empowering farmers through strategic partnerships, improved productivity and reliable markets.

๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐˜€ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—จ๐—ฝ ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜†

Makueni is stepping up efforts to nurture local talent and unlock opportunities in the creative industry through the Jenga Msanii initiative, which brought together emerging and established artists to showcase their talents and gain skills to grow their careers.

The event, organised by the Department of ICT, Education and Internship through the Makueni Ajiry Centre, was graced by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, who reaffirmed the county government’s commitment, under Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s leadership, to supporting local creatives and creating opportunities for them to earn from their talents.

She urged artists to put into practice the knowledge gained through training by the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), emphasising the importance of protecting and commercialising their creative works.

KECOBO Acting Chief Executive Officer George Nyakweba underscored the importance of copyright awareness and intellectual property protection in empowering artists to benefit from their creativity.

The event also saw artists who successfully completed the KECOBO training awarded certificates, marking another milestone in efforts to build a vibrant and sustainable creative industry in Makueni.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. attends the burial ceremony of the late Kennedy Ngua Muinde

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. attends the burial ceremony of the late Kennedy Ngua Muinde at Mwenyeani Village, Utangwa, Kithungo-Kitundu Ward.

Kennedy, who was the Governorโ€™s cousin, was remembered as a good friend and a caring person. The Governor extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, describing the late Kennedy as a cherished friend whose loss will be deeply felt by the entire community.

๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐Š๐„๐‚๐Ž๐๐Ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐”๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ

๐–๐Ž๐“๐„, ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ”, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” โ€“Makueni County has partnered with the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to protect local artistsโ€™ creative works and equip emerging talent with skills to build sustainable livelihoods in the creative industry.

The five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will promote copyright awareness, support music registration, enhance music monetisation and strengthen protection against copyright infringement.

Speaking during the partnership engagement, Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili reaffirmed the countyโ€™s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and called for sustained public awareness initiatives, including local radio programmes to educate artists.

KECOBO, led by Acting Executive Director George Nyakweba, committed to training artists and enforcement officers, targeting approximately 100โ€“120 participants before the end of the year.

The partnership builds on previous capacity-building efforts, including the training of 50 gospel and secular musicians in May 2026. County CECM for Devolution Nicholas Nzioka, Chief Officer Nicholis Mutua and other county officials attended the engagement.

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili joined family, friends and neighbours in Nthawe Village, Ivingoni/Nzambani Ward, to condole with former Makueni County Assembly Speaker Stephen Ngelu

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili joined family, friends and neighbours in Nthawe Village, Ivingoni/Nzambani Ward, to condole with former Makueni County Assembly Speaker Stephen Ngelu following the passing of his foster mother, Mama Angela Mutava, aged 102.

On behalf of Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. and the County Government of Makueni, The Deputy Governor conveyed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, wishing them strength, comfort and God’s grace during this difficult time.

She was accompanied by CECM Dr. Paul Musila, Chief Officers, Makueni County Public Service Board Chairman Kioko Kiilu Kasamba and other County officials.

๐—ž๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐˜‚ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€

๐—ž๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐˜‚, ๐Ÿฑ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ -Residents of Kambu have commended the County Government of Makueni for its continued investment in healthcare infrastructure and improved service delivery across the county.

During an engagement with residents at Kambu Sub-County Hospital, following the groundbreaking ceremony for a KSh 54 million Maternal and Newborn Care Facility, residents also recognised the dedication of healthcare workers in delivering quality healthcare services to the community.

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili highlighted various developments in the health sector across Makueni County and encouraged residents to enrol in and utilise the Mutula Care Programme, noting that KSh 90 million had been set aside to support access to healthcare. She also sensitised parents on the dangers of gum cutting among children and urged communities to abandon the harmful practice.

In a demonstration of compassion, the Deputy Governor waived the hospital bill of a mother who had delivered but was unable to settle her medical expenses. She also offered support to another patient in urgent need of treatment.

She expressed her appreciation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for supporting the construction of the maternity unit and creating employment opportunities for local residents through the engagement of local labour.

The Deputy Governor was accompanied by CECMs Joyce Mutua, Dr Paul Musila, Chief Officers Dr Harvey Mulei, Dr Alex Mulinge, Tryphine Mulei and Japheth Kiminza, alongside Members of the County Assembly Harrison Mutie and Francis Mulwa.

๐Š๐’๐ก๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ’ ๐Œ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ž๐ฐ๐›๐จ๐ซ๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐…๐š๐œ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐ฌ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐š๐ญ ๐Š๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ฎ ๐’๐ฎ๐›-๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐‡๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ

๐Š๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ฎ, ๐Ÿ“๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”- Access to quality maternal and newborn healthcare in Kambu is set for a major boost following the groundbreaking of a modern maternity and newborn unit at Kambu Sub-County Hospital, led by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili.

The KSh 54 million project, implemented through a partnership involving the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will have a 30-bed capacity comprising seven pre-natal beds, 17 post-natal beds and six beds for the newborn and Kangaroo Care units. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of July 2027.

Once completed, the unit will provide mothers with improved care before and after delivery while strengthening support for newborn babies, including those requiring specialised attention.

The Deputy Governor was accompanied by CECM for Health Services Joyce Mutua and several Chief Officers during the groundbreaking ceremony.