News

MAKUENI LIGHTS UP MARKETS TO BOOST 24-HOUR ECONOMY

The Department of Energy has installed two flood masts in Kikumbulyu North Ward to enhance security and support businesses operating at night.

The floodlights, set up in Kathyaka and Athi Kiaoni markets, were commissioned by CECMs Eng. John Kieti (Water) and Eng. Peter Nyamai (Energy).

Market floodlights improve safety, extend business hours and create a more vibrant trading environment.

This initiative to light up markets aligns with Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s plan to drive economic growth in local markets.

With a similar project launched this week in Kiunduani Market, the Thursday commissioning was attended by Kikumbulyu North MCA Jackson Mbalu, Governor’s Advisor Nzioki King’ola and Education Director Damaris Makau.

MAKUENI LEVERAGES ON TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

Makueni County has since the advent of devolution struggled to meet the water demand of her more than one million residents. While there are so many water projects developed to meet the current daily demand of 60,000 cubic meters, some remain nonfunctional and others performing below capacity due to governance shortfalls.

To improve management of water assets for sustainable supply of water to residents, Makueni County has adopted a transformative Water Management Information System (MIS), which tracks the developed infrastructure, functionality, coverage and management challenges where applicable.

The system is co-created in partnership with USAID-STAWI and is intended for use by different stakeholders in the water sector for reporting on water assets management as well as report issues affecting water distribution systems to reduce governance-orchestrated water scarcity.

This digital system also enables informed decision-making and preventing duplication of efforts by water investors. With a centralized platform, stakeholders will collaborate efficiently, ensuring investments align with the county’s overall water agenda.

On Monday, water officers in the county were inducted on the use of the digital system in a forum graced by Water Executive Committee Member John Kieti, Chief Officer David Makau and USAID-STAWI South Eastern Coordinator Alois Muthini in Wote.

MAKUENI LEADS PROCESSION MATCHES DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE KENYA INTER-COUNTY SPORTS ASSOCIATION (KYISA) GAMES AT PWANI UNIVERSITY ON MONDAY

Makueni leads procession matches during the official opening of the Kenya Inter-county Sports Association (KYISA) Games at Pwani University on Monday.

County Executive Committee Member for Sports Eng. Peter Mumo led the Makueni team.

Makueni is the defending champion in Ladies Football and Men Basketball.

Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro presided over the opening ceremony

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MAKUENI LEADS NATION IN ROLLOUT OF LIFESAVING MATERNAL NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTS

Makueni County has become the first in the country to officially roll out Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS), marking a major milestone in the fight against maternal anaemia.

This initiative is between Makueni county and Vitamin Angels through the Transforming Lives initiative, through the nutrition consortium.

The launch was held on Friday at Makindu Sub-County Hospital.

The supplements, packaged in doses of 180 tablets, are to be taken once daily over a six-month period. Each tablet contains 15 essential nutrients designed to address the high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women and reduce the risk of maternal deaths.

Despite nearly universal access to Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (IFAS) among women attending antenatal clinics, many still present with anaemia at the time of delivery. This condition significantly increases the risk of excessive bleeding during childbirth.

According to County Executive Committee Member for Health, Joyce Mutua, investigations revealed that many women found IFAS unpleasant due to its taste, which often caused nausea and reduced adherence.

Unlike IFAS, which contains only two nutrients, the new Multiple Micronutrient Supplement combines 15 essential nutrients in a single tablet. This formulation is expected to improve compliance among expectant mothers while meeting their broader nutritional needs.

During pregnancy, a woman’s daily iron requirement increases significantly. However, many existing supplements provide insufficient iron and lack complementary nutrients that enhance absorption and utilization in the body.

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, who presided over the launch, praised Vitamin Angels through the Transforming Lives initiative for partnering with the county to integrate MMS into antenatal care services.

She noted that the implementation science-driven initiative positions Makueni at the forefront of advancing maternal nutrition interventions, setting a precedent for other counties to follow.

MAKUENI LEADS KENYA IN POST-PARTUM HEMORRHAGE RESPONSE

The Head of the Division for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Edward Serem, has commended Makueni County for emerging as a national leader in the implementation of post-partum hemorrhage Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EMONC) protocols.

Dr. Serem called on other counties to emulate Makueni’s approach, noting that the implementing partners declined to pilot the programme in another county, citing Makueni’s strong leadership and the conducive environment created for successful implementation of the project.

He further revealed that another development partner had also chosen to pilot a health project in Makueni for similar reasons, urging counties to remain open-minded and supportive towards development partners working within the health sector.

Dr. Serem spoke in Nairobi on Monday while addressing intra-partum members of the Communities of Practice, a Maternal Health Technical Working Group established by the Ministry of Health and key partners to facilitate substantive technical discussions on maternal and newborn health.

The meeting focused on reviewing the current maternal and newborn health status related to intra-partum care, dissemination of findings from the AMPLI-PPHI study, and briefing members on the EWENE Rapid Initiative.

The Communities of Practice serve as technical platforms for in-depth thematic engagement, review of programme data and emerging evidence, identification of implementation challenges, generation of evidence-based recommendations, and contribution to the broader Maternal Health Technical Working Group discourse.

During the meeting, Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. was also commended for supporting RMNCAH implementation and championing interventions aimed at combating post-partum hemorrhage.

Makueni County has become a national benchmark after recording zero maternal deaths resulting from post-partum hemorrhage in 2023, 2024, and since January 2026 to date.

MAKUENI LEADS KENYA IN BUDGET TRANSPARENCY, BAGS FIVE NATIONAL AWARDS

Makueni County has been ranked the best-performing county in Kenya in the County Budget Transparency Survey (CBTS) 2025, scoring an impressive 89 out of 100 points, the highest among all 47 counties.

The county also emerged as the biggest winner during the survey’s launch in Nairobi, taking home five prestigious awards, more than any other county.

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili represented Makueni at the event, which was organized by Bajeti Hub under the leadership of Executive Director Dr. Abraham Rugo Muriu.

The awards recognized Makueni as the most transparent county overall, the best-performing county in the timely publication of budget documents, and the county with the most comprehensive Quarterly Budget Implementation Report, County Fiscal Strategy Paper, and Finance Act.

The achievement underscores the county’s strong performance across all stages of the budget cycle.The latest recognition marks five consecutive years of sustained improvement in budget transparency.

Makueni’s score has steadily risen from 55 points in 2021 to 89 points in 2025, recording progress in every round of the survey during the five-year period.

Speaking on behalf of Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr., Mulili attributed the achievement to visionary leadership, robust public participation, and the county’s unwavering commitment to grassroots development.

She noted that 70 per cent of the county’s development budget is allocated to projects at the community level, with each project overseen by a Project Management Committee (PMC) to enhance accountability and eliminate the possibility of ghost projects.

County delegations attending the event congratulated Makueni on the achievement, with many describing the county as a benchmark for transparency and accountability in Kenya’s devolved system of governance.

Makueni’s performance reflects Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s vision that openness and transparency in public finance management are essential pillars for effective service delivery and sustainable development.

The award ceremony was attended by Finance CECM Damaris Kavoi and Acting Chief Officer for Planning Geoffrey Ngovi Muthoka, among other county officials and stakeholders.

Makueni Leaders pay Moving Tribute to Fallen Former President Moi

A section of Makueni leaders led by governor Kivutha Kibwana, County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, assembly speaker Douglas Mbilu and former KANU minister Peter Maundu led citizens of Makueni in paying their tribute to fallen former president Daniel Moi Thursday.

Speaker after speaker eulogized Moi as a patriotic leader who unified the country through his clarion call of Peace, Love and Unity despite the ferocious clamour for constitutional reforms for most part of his presidency.

“I may not have had a good relationship with the former president due to my leadership of the pro-reform movement which roughed the former president the wrong way. I must however commend him for the inclusivity in leadership of his government.” Said Kibwana.

“Moi is credited for laying a firm foundation for education in Kenya. The proliferation of Universities in the country was driven by Moi, who as a teacher saw the need for an educated generation,” the governor said further.

Kibwana said Moi’s executive power was felt across the country because he appointed ministers and their assistants from every corner of the country. He said this was the reason the former president was able to rule for 24 years.

The Makueni governor also applauded Moi for overseeing a smooth transition of power in 2002, when he would have used the state machinery to rig in his preferred successor.

According to Kibwana, the only thing he regrets is not getting an opportunity to sit with the former president and speaking one-on-one about the issues he and his pro-reform cohorts were fighting for.

“I wish I had an opportunity to sit with him and to tell him that the ‘Fimbo ya Nyayo’ was hard on us but we had to do what we did for the good of Kenya. I also would have told him I hold no grudges against him for the suffering we and our families went through,” said the governor.

Mr. Maundu who served as an assistant minister in the office of the president and a KANU elected MP for Makueni termed the former president as a person who loved young people and propelled many into leadership.
“He was simply a mentor to the youth. Many of us were trusted with high leadership positions as assistant ministers in our early thirties. He even allowed us to represent the country internationally and he believed in the feedback we brought,” he said.

MAKUENI LAUNCHES WATER PROJECTS IN WOTE AND MAVINDINI TO IMPROVE ACCESS AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE

County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Urban Planning & Development, Environment and Climate Change, Japheth Mang’oka, has unveiled contractors for two water enhancement projects in Wote and Mavindini.

The project in Wote involves the distribution of 100 cubic meters of water per hour from Kaiti 2 sand dam to Camarel in Wote town and Kaseve. This initiative aims to ensure the sustainable provision of water to over 3,000 residents in Wote and its environs.

In Mavindini, the contractor will construct a 100 cubic meters sump and install a 22-kilowatt solar pumping system at the Athi River intake. This project aims to provide clean water for domestic use to 2,500 households and water for irrigation to 400 households in the Katithi, Mavindini, and Ivinganzia sub-locations within Mavindini Sub-Ward.

The projects, co-funded by the county government and the World Bank under the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) program, are designed to enhance community resilience to drought and water scarcity. They also aim to build adaptive capacities to mitigate the impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and other environmental stressors.

MAKUENI LAUNCHES THE PROCESS FOR COMPREHENSIVE NUTRITION POLICY DEVELOPMENT

On Tuesday, the Department of Health Services held a stakeholder sensitization forum towards development of a county nutrition policy.

The initiative, spearheaded by Nutrition International, brought together the departments of agriculture,Office of the County Attorney,education-ECDE,Water, gender,Finance,State department of social protection, State department of Education,National Drought Management Authority among others.

The policy intends to foster multi-sectoral collaboration, streamline coordination, and establish a framework for resource mobilization as well as a framework for monitoring and evaluation .

During the forum, Dr. Paul Musila, County Executive Committee Member for Health Services, highlighted the importance of mobilizing domestic resources and documenting Makueni’s good health and nutrition practices .

MAKUENI LAUNCHES PUBLIC FORUMS FOR 2026/27 DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Makueni County has kicked off a two-day countywide public participation exercise to shape its Annual Development Plan for the 2026/27 financial year.

The forum, Which officially opened on Thursday at Wote Green Park, drew residents who shared their views with a team of officers in finance led by CECM Damaris Kavoi.

In her remarks, Kavoi noted that such strong turnouts reflect a community deeply invested in its own development, a value that Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr’s administration continues to uphold by prioritizing citizen-driven proposals in policy and project implementation.

Held in line with the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, and Article 220(2) of the Constitution of Kenya, the meetings provide an opportunity for residents to voice their priorities and guide resource allocation.

The exercise continues on Friday across multiple venues in all 30 wards of Makueni.