Nyamira County Governor Amos Nyaribo.
The adage, ‘When two bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers,’ perfectly fits the current political situation in Nyamira County.
This maxim exemplifies the messy and trivial political fights that have continued unabated since the August 2022 General Election. The electorate cast their votes in the hope that their lives would change through efficient and effective service delivery.
However, the leaders entrusted with the public responsibility to transform residents’ lives have continued to perpetually lock horns in a nasty, endless fight.
The competing political factions and their hard lines have hampered harmony in the County Assembly and created a hostile environment for initiating and implementing development.
Late last year, the county set a new record by becoming the first to have two separate county assemblies, two speakers, and, at one point, two clerks, running separate programmes from different locations. One faction of the county assembly, led by embattled Speaker Enock Okero, conducts duties from different towns across wards in what they refer to as Bunge Mashinani.
Nyamira County Assembly Speaker Enock Okero.
Trouble started after Mr Okero was impeached in October 2024. However, he later mobilised and galvanised MCAs allied to him and reportedly gazetted Bunge Mashinani ahead of his ouster. He then moved to court, which temporarily reinstated him, pending the conclusion of the application that challenged his removal.
Typical of the now-apparent trend of disregarding court orders in Kenya, anti-Okero MCAs could not stomach his return. This led to a violent confrontation during official business.
Fearing an escalation, Mr Okero dramatically abandoned the official assembly building and led his team of eight MCAs to conduct its first Bunge Mashinani sitting at Manga Stadium.
On the other hand, his opponents, led by Ekerenyo MCA Thaddeus Nyabaro, conducted parallel house business at the County Assembly headquarters.
Mr Nyabaro was Mr Okero's Deputy before the latter’s impeachment. Mr Okero's ouster came after a failed impeachment of Governor Amos Nyaribo in October 2024, when Mr Okero was accused of protecting him.
Nyamira senator, Okong’o Omogeni, debating at Senate on Thursday, October 13
Mr Nyaribo is accused of working with one faction of the county assembly—led by Mr Okero—a situation that has created a political conundrum. Currently, the animosity among leaders has spiralled and drawn in Senator Okong'o Omogeni.
Audit queries
Mr Nyaribo has accused the senator of undermining his leadership and wanting to take over from him forcefully and unlawfully. He contends that Mr Omogeni has instigated constant Senate audit queries to dig up dirt aimed at fixing him.
“Our senator is the one fuelling the fire, and he is like a priest here,” claimed Mr Nyaribo during a recent appearance at the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), responding to a Sh5.8 billion audit query on the 2023/24 budget, which failed to take off because of late submission of the audit report.
He told the committee the delay was due to confusion over the legitimate county assembly clerk. Mr Nyaribo said the county has been dogged by endless litigations over the clerk position, a matter that was only recently determined in court, hence the delay in responding to the Senate query. “I must obey the law. Until the court pronounced itself, we were divided. The clerk who was writing was suspended and was still writing,” he submitted.
Mr Okero was reportedly in a hostile working relationship with Clerk Daniel Orina prior to his impeachment proceedings. At some point, Mr Orina was accused of indiscipline, which led to his suspension and the appointment of Mr Duke Onyari in an acting capacity. Mr Orina refused to accept his removal, complicating the situation, which is reminiscent of the Wild West, where the law of the jungle reigned supreme—marked by roughness and lawlessness. “There seems to be a complete breakdown of governance institutions in Nyamira,” observed CPAC Chair Moses Kajwang’. “We cannot force you to love each other, but we can make you work. We have to use all means—formal and informal—to enable institutions to function so that Nyamira people can enjoy devolution like the rest.”
The plot has thickened over which assembly Mr Nyaribo has been relying on to execute functions involving public funds. For instance, an additional Sh410 million has been approved for Nyamira, but it is unclear which assembly will appropriate it.
Based on his Senate statements, the governor seems to favour the Okero faction, which has been conducting its business away from the county headquarters.
Mr Omogeni wants the Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Committee to determine the legitimate assembly location and whether the Bunge Mashinani concept was lawfully passed.
He also urged the committee to help reconcile leaders and mediate in the ongoing wrangles.
Devolution
But a Devolution Committee meeting chaired by Wajir Senator Sheikh Abbass failed to reconcile the two factions.
The meeting, which also involved Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, saw each faction justify its legitimacy and return to Nyamira with heads held high—despite skeletons in their closets.
Mr Okero submitted that a court preserved him as Speaker on December 16, 2024, and that “Bunge Mashinani” was procedurally passed by the County Assembly.
He argued that his nemesis is merely an MCA and therefore cannot purport to be the Speaker.
Mr Nyabaro, on the other hand, told the Senators that the Assembly Mace is at the official premises, where his faction has been working from, and that Mr Okero was successfully impeached.
“This situation has caused confusion, undermining legislative integrity and potentially jeopardizing public confidence in the institution, devolution, and the Senate’s oversight role,” observed Mr Omogeni.
Ms Nyakang’o emphasized that funds from the Exchequer to Nyamira County have always been disbursed in accordance with the prevailing legal framework.
She clarified that she does not deal with County Assemblies directly, but only with the County Executive Committees.
“I would like to tell the Senate that I do not deal with the County Assemblies directly in disbursing funds, but with the County Executive Committee Member for Finance, with the allocation for the County Assembly factored into the overall county disbursement,” said Ms Nyakang’o.
So far, based on information provided to her office by the Finance Executive, she said her office still recognizes Mr Okero as Speaker and Mr Silvanus Nyamora as County Assembly Clerk.
She added that her work does not extend to individual transactions but involves monitoring the budget's usage at the vote head level—thus she is not responsible in case of any loss of funds.
Nyamira County’s 2024/2025 approved budget by Mr Nyaribo and Mr Okero in July 2024 was Sh7.5 billion and was later increased to Sh8.1 billion in a supplementary budget.
With the Senate failing to offer a truce, service delivery remains hampered, even as Governor Nyaribo considers asking President William Ruto to appoint a special committee to run the county or to effect its dissolution.
With barely three months to the start of the next financial year, it remains to be seen how Nyamira County will handle the budget-making process, oversight, and representation.
Mr Nyaribo is the party leader of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which claims a numerical majority of eight MCAs in the Nyamira County Assembly.
The county has 20 wards, with 10 different political parties represented, and one MCA elected on an independent ticket.
ODM has seven members, Wiper (4), Jubilee (2), and Kenya National Congress—KNC (1), giving a total of 24 members.
Ford Kenya (4), United Democratic Alliance—UDA (2), Amani National Congress—ANC (2), and PPK (2).
The Assembly also has 15 nominated MCAs.
rmbula@ke.nationmedia.com
