Beleaguered Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo, has welcomed a proposal by religious leaders in the county to mediate the impasse between him and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).
The MCAs have threatened to table an impeachment motion against him on allegations of corruption.
“I have heard Father Nyangeri and other religious leaders seeking to mediate between the MCAs and my office. I whole-heartedly welcome the proposal and embrace it with both my hands because I want us to talk and find solutions for the sake of our county,” said Mr Nyaribo.
The governor stated that the impeachment clause was being weaponised by some errant MCAs to harass and intimidate innocent governors whenever their unrealistic demands were not met.
“You have heard a wave of negative noises here and there. Don’t be distracted. I have written to the MCAs inviting them to a round table discussion so that I can have a clear understanding of what their grievances are. To this day, I have no clue what they are complaining about to enable me to respond appropriately.
“All elected leaders must work together in order for development in the county to be realised. If they believe the governor has committed any impeachable offense, I challenge them to present the evidence showing what the governor has violated,” the governor said.
Mr Nyaribo further accused the MCAs of abusing the intended purpose of the impeachment law saying that the specific clause was created to regulate rogue governors.
“The impeachment clause was enacted to tame wayward governors who have the proclivity to run down public institutions and resources. I have not done any of the violations outlined in the impeachment clause,” he said.
The MCAs have in the past few days come under sharp criticism from a section of politicians in Nyamira with former Senator Kennedy Okong’o accusing the ward reps of being used by external forces to extort the governor.
Mr Okong’o claimed that the MCAs were only out to push clan politics and warned them that they would be punished by the electorate if their actions undermined development.
The former senator claimed that the MCAs had no solid or specific reasons to threaten the impeachment, alleging that they were blackmailing the governor to extort him financially.
Fifteen out of 34 MCAs validated their signatures with the Assembly clerk on Thursday last week and vowed to table the impeachment motion on Tuesday this week.
The governor is under siege from a section of the county MCAs after he fired the County Executive Committee member—CEC—for Health, Dr Timothy Ombati on allegations of corruption.
The sacked Health Executive has since moved to court through lawyer Danstan Omari on grounds that he was unlawfully sacked. He wants the governor to reinstate him.
