MCAs run roughshod on whoever is not singing their tune

The impeachment of Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi and Embu Majority Chief Whip Margaret Lorna Kariuki over the last two weeks has exposed the inherent risks that come with some of the most coveted positions in counties.

The increasing cases of elected county bosses - including Speakers of the county assemblies, majority and minority whips - being unceremoniously kicked out of office by ward representatives point to the vulnerability of such office holders whenever they fall out with the powers that be.

The frequent sackings, suspensions and demotions of county executive committee members and chief officers, as has been witnessed in Nairobi during the reign of Governor Mike Sonko, has also exposed the insecurities which come with such appointments.

In Elachi’s case for instance, a fallout with MCAs from both sides of the political divide led to her unceremonious ejection from office.

FAKE DEGREE

The MCAs accused her of abuse of office, alleging she inappropriately used public funds on dubious travel to the US.

While Ms Elachi said she in the US for a Diaspora women network conference, MCAs claimed she went for a plastic and knee surgery.

They said their surgery claim was backed by an insurance claim from CIC Insurance totalling Sh1 million, whose payment was similarly "procured through deceit and intimidation".

She was also accused of spending public funds on a visit to Dubai, UAE, to ostensibly receive “a fake honorary doctoral degree from the ‘London Graduate School’, which is affiliated to a ‘Commonwealth University’, a university suspiciously registered in Belize, a tiny country in Central America, and run from Nigeria.

Here, Ms Elachi is alleged to have paid a sum of Sh550,000 of taxpayers’ monies as part of a suspicious “Dubai Leadership Summit”, knowing fully the costly and fake degree was a ploy by “Nigerian fraudsters in what are commonly known as 419 scams”.

RABBLE-ROUSER

In the Embu case, the majority chief whip Kariuki was accused by Jubilee Party MCAs of incompetence and causing divisions among ward representatives.

Twelve out of 22 MCAs voted to oust Ms Kariuki, while 10 opposed the motion.

Led by the Majority Leader Michael Njeru, the MCAs said Ms Kariuki had failed to convene party meetings for the past one year she has served as chief whip.

Evurore MCA Duncan Mbui - who levelled the accusations - said Ms Kariuki was creating divisions, infighting among the MCAs through propaganda in social media as well as disrespecting the Assembly Speaker Josiah Thiriku.

He said the nominated MCA had written to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), claiming Mr Thiriku had made irregular mileage claims.

In Nyandarua County, the decision to impeach two County Executive Committee members was partly meant to “discipline” the Francis Kimemia administration which the MCAs claim has exhibited “arrogance” since it came into office.

SPEAKER SLAMMED

But the entire mission failed after MCAs opposed to the motion turned tables on its movers.

The targeted duo, Finance and Trade Executives Mary Mugwanja and Muthoni Wamuiya respectively ignored the summons to appear before the assembly through the advice of their lawyers, but their impeachment motion still failed.

Throughout the circus, Speaker Wahome Ndegwa asserted his authority, dismissing the duo's advocates as incompetent and naive.

During the debate, dissenting MCAs were categorical the motion was ill-intentioned and its timing was suspect, coming a few days after a budget making standoff between the Assembly leadership and the executive.

They accused Mr Wahome of using the assembly to fight a personal battle with Governor Kimemia.

But Mr Wahome strongly objected to calls that he disqualifies himself from chairing the Special Sitting, maintaining he was not a voter in the House.

SUPERIORITY CONTEST

He also overruled suggestions that the voting be conducted through secret ballot, a move the MCAs felt was aimed at intimidating them.

As if borrowing a cue from their colleagues in Nairobi, a section of Taita Taveta MCAs are planning to oust its leadership, saying they lack confidence in the Speaker Meshack Maghanga, clerk Michael Ngala, Majority Leader Jason Tuja and Minority Leader Harris Keke.

Those who want them out claim they have failed to address grievances raised by some of the MCAs.

The rift between nominated and elected MCAs is said to have caused misunderstanding with the latter belittling their nominated counterparts and denying them key positions in the county assembly committees.

The assembly has 20 elected and 13 nominated MCAs.

Speaking to the Sunday Nation, nominated MCA Anastacia Wakesho said a section of their elected counterparts were creating a situation depicting elected MCAs as superior.

She said the leadership lacked gender equality since all the eleven women MCAs were given junior positions.

“Whenever we raise these complaints, we are told to take the positions or leave them,” she said.

COMPENSATION CLAIM REJECTED

And as MCAs continue to flex their muscles, some of the ousted officials have gone to the courts to seek justice.

In May, the Industrial Court in Kisumu threw out an attempt by former Assembly Speaker Anne Adul to claim Sh10.4 million in compensation following her impeachment by MCAs in 2014.

Mrs Adul, who was reinstated by the Court of Appeal, had moved to the Labour and Employment Court to seek compensation which she said was awarded by a judge who handled her case.

The former officer who was forcefully removed from office had told the court that her rights were violated and that she lost a number of allowances after she was ousted.

She told the court she was “abused, insulted, and ridiculed by MCAs to the point of great embarrassment”.

Through her lawyer Elisha Ongoya, Mrs Adul said the decision to impeach her was unconstitutional and was done despite the High Court issuing a court to stop the process.

During the period she was out of office, she said, she lost about Sh2.4 million in allowances she said she could have earned if she was in office.

OLOO SURVIVES OUSTER

However, Justice Nduma Nderi, who delivered the judgement on behalf of Justice Maureen Onyango, said there was no proof the court that had handled the case issued orders on compensation.

The judge noted during the submissions that lawyer Ongoya made reference to the judgment having awarded compensation while in the affidavit he referred to it as general and punitive damages.

Recently, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o was forced to step in and rescue Speaker Onyango Oloo from impeachment.

Prof Nyong’o instead threw his weight behind the Speaker maintaining he will not allow any wrangling in the house as witnessed in the previous assembly.

Mr Nyong'o termed the impeachment motion tabled by Market Milimani MCA Seth Adui Kanga ill-intended and meant to cause divisions.

In Bungoma, Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has moved to quell growing rebellion from MCAs who were threatening to impeach him over non-performance.

On Thursday, Mr Wangamati held a closed-door meeting with the disgruntled MCAs at the Bungoma County Assembly to thrash out their differences.

MEETING ORGANISED

The MCAs had twice rejected overtures by the governor to meet them, first at his Ndengelwa home and later at a Kisumu hotel, to iron out their differences before finally accepting to meet him at the County Assembly.

“After realising we were almost making good our threat of impeaching him, he (Wangamati) started making frantic calls on Wednesday evening inviting us to his rural home for a meeting which we turned down. He also wanted us to meet him at a Kisumu hotel, a move that we also declined,” the MCA who requested anonymity for fear of being reprimanded by his colleagues said.

He went on: “We told him we could only meet him at the County Assembly premises of which he agreed to the Thursday meeting that lasted about five hours. The Governor agreed to all our demands at the end of the meeting.”

The MCAs also resolved to approve the names of county chief officers as nominated by Mr Wangamati.

The infighting within the assemblies also manifested itself in Mombasa when MCAs ousted Thadius Rajwai as speaker in 2016 over alleged corruption and abuse of office.

His ouster was dramatic as the MCAs engaged in physical fights in the assembly.

JOHO ALLY

A group led by Nominated MCA and ODM branch chairman Mohamed Hatimy attempted to eject Mr Rajwai in a chaotic session that saw the Mace broken and blows exchanged between his supporters and their rivals.

Governor Hassan Joho however learnt from the debacle that had befallen his first term in office and this time backed his ally for the Speaker’s position that led to other individuals paving way for businessman Harub Khatri to succeed Mr Rajwai.

Mr Khatri is also being fronted as Mr Joho’s successor.

Report by Collins Omulo, Charles Wanyoro, Waikwa Maina, Lucy Mkanyika, Winnie Atieno, Rushdie Oudia and Dennis Lubanga