Tale of two Assemblies: Nyamira MCAs hold parallel sittings in different locations
Nyamira County Assembly Speaker Enock Okero.
The rift and supremacy wars rocking the Nyamira County Assembly deepened on Tuesday after two factions held parallel meetings in different locations.
Impeached Speaker Enock Okero convened an assembly sitting at Manga Stadium, which was attended by eight ward representatives allied to him, while the rest of the House conducted its businesses in the assembly premises under the leadership of Deputy Speaker Thaddeus Nyabaro, who is also the Ekerenyo Ward Representative.
The agenda discussed at the sitting in Manga remains unclear, but Nation.Africa has learnt that before Mr Okero was impeached, he had developed schedules to have special sittings at the ward levels, in what was dubbed as “Bunge Mashinani.”
Mr Okero was impeached last month for gross misconduct and sabotaging assembly motions, among other charges. He has challenged his ouster in court.
The court directed that the status quo be maintained until his case is heard and determined, but the MCAs who voted for his removal have barred Mr Okero from accessing the assembly premises to conduct house business despite the court orders.
Because of the standoff, the Nyamira County Assembly grounds have of late been converted into a battleground as the factions confront each other.
Last month, when he was given the reprieve by the court, Mr Okero attempted to enter the assembly but he was pelted with stones, prompting police to fire several teargas canisters to disperse the warring factions.
Nation.Africa has established that Mr Okero has resolved to take advantage of the “Bunge Mashinani” sessions to continue discharging his duties amid the frosty relationships with most of the MCAs.
The anti-Okero faction has also accused him of being the stumbling block in the quest to impeach Governor Amos Nyaribo.
According to pictures taken during the meeting in Manga, which have since gone viral, the setting of the room where the meeting was held appeared to resemble that of the Assembly.
The embattled speaker sat in his official Assembly robes behind two orderlies, also in uniform.
A maze was placed on one of the tables and a small red carpet on the floor was seen in the room where the proceedings were conducted.
Rigoma Ward MCA Nyambega Gisesa was making submissions on the ‘floor of the House’ as the rest of the members followed closely.
When contacted for comment, Mr Gisesa said the Manga sitting was one way of embracing the "Bunge Mashinani" initiatives.
He cited examples of counties that had conducted the initiatives as one way of taking their legislative roles to the grassroots.
“We went for a Bunge Mashinani. We are not the first ones to have this because other counties have also done it,” Mr Gisesa said but did not disclose the nature of the business they discussed.