Kisii Governor Simba Arati nominates Elijah Obebo as his deputy
Elijah Julius Obebo during a past event.
Kisii Governor Simba Arati has named Mr Elijah Julius Obebo, the current County Public Service Board (CPSB) Chairman, as his deputy following the impeachment of Dr Robert Monda from the position.
The nomination of Mr Obebo was made public in the County Assembly of Kisii on Wednesday afternoon by Speaker Philip Nyanumba.
"Honourable members, I am pleased to inform this house that I have received communication from His Excellency, the governor of Kisii County, Honourable Paul Simba Arati, on the nominee for the position of deputy governor. Pending approval by the house, he has nominated Mr Elijah Obebo to the position," Speaker Nyanumba said.
Dr Monda was ousted from office last week after the Senate upheld all the four charges as brought against him by the County Assembly of Kisii.
At the heart of the allegations that sent Mr Monda packing was a Sh 800,000 bribe from one Denis Mokaya with the promise that he will secure him a commercial job at the Gusii Water and Sanitation Company, (Gwasco) as well as the arrest and detention of his own brother, Reuben Monda, for cutting down trees on their family land.
The Senators voted overwhelmingly to uphold all the four charges levelled against him.
They include gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office, gross misconduct and crimes under the national law.
Following his impeachment, Dr Monda moved to court on Monday, March 18, 2024 to challenge the decision by the Senate to oust him from office.
He however did not get any orders as far as the matter is concerned, and therefore, the governor proceeded to name his deputy within 14 days as provided in the law.
The County Assembly has 60 days to vet the proposed DG.
Mr Obebo hails from the Abanyaribari clan just like Dr Monda. He was sworn in to serve as chairman of the CPSB in November 2023.
The populous Abanyaribari clan gave Mr Arati a significant number of votes in the 2022 general election.
The sharing of top county seats in Gusii is usually influenced by clan factors.
In the 2022 arithmetic, Governor Arati, who comes from the Ababasi clan, picked Dr Monda as his running mate. The Abagetutu people got the senator while the Abanchari got the Women Representative position.
Other major clans are the Abamachoge, who were rewarded with the Speaker of the County Assembly seat and the Abagirango who were given the County Secretary position.
