Nyamira County Governor Amos Nyaribo when he appeared before the Senate County Public Investment Committee at Bunge Towers, Nairobi on September 5, 2024.
Leadership wrangles pitting the county assembly and Governor Amos Nyaribo have had Nyamira County on edge for two years.
Coupled with an unprecedented plurality of political parties, the never-ending leadership fights now threaten to paralyse service delivery to the constituents.
The county with only 20 wards has 10 different political parties represented in the Assembly, with only one member being elected on an independent ticket.
From arbitrary leadership changes to open differences between the House Speaker and Clerk to legal contests, no one is willing to blink first.
The latest clash is emanating from the removal of members of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), who claim a numerical majority of eight members, from key leadership positions in the Assembly.
During the 2022 general elections, UPA, whose party leader is Governor Nyaribo, bagged six slots and an additional three through nomination.
However, the Governor’s party suffered a major blow after losing Elijah Osiemo, one of its members, who was serving as the Assembly Leader of Majority, through a road accident in 2023, reducing their number to eight.
In a case now lying before the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), MCAs Nyambega Gisesa, Edna Obara, and Elija Abere of the UPA party are seeking the court’s intervention citing illegal, unfair, and un-procedural removal from the house leadership on September 5, 2024.
This happened despite Assembly Speaker Enock Okero having ruled in October 2023 that the UPA was the majority party.
Hitherto September 5, Mr Gisesa, Ms Obara, and Mr Abere were serving as deputy leaders of the majority, chairperson roads and transport committee, and chairperson of the health committee, respectively.
In case number PPDTC/E012/2024, Desma Nungo voided their removal pending the hearing and determination of their Application.
He listed the application for mention on September 19, 2024, at 2:30pm.
“Pending the hearing and determination of the Application, this honorable Tribunal hereby issues an interim order restraining the 3rd respondent from implementing the communication from the chair made on the floor of Nyamira County Assembly on 5th September 2024 removing and, or de-whipping the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents as the Deputy Majority Leader, chairperson Roads and transport Committee, and chairperson Health Committee (of) Nyamira County respectively,” Mr Nungo’s order reads in part.
He further directed that the trio should be left to serve as members of various House committees, pending a logical conclusion to their Application.
In a letter from the UPA party to Speaker Okero on September 9, 2024, the party’s Secretary General Jacob Bagaka decried the move, emphasizing that it was amounting to intimidation to approve the looming impeachment of Governor Nyaribo.
“The party has received reports that some of our members are being intimidated, forced, insulted and, or threatened in an attempt to compel them to sign and, or verify a proposed motion for the impeachment of Governor, Nyamira County,” reads Mr Bagaka’s letter.
Mr Bagaka advances that the said threats have led to the de-whipping of his party members from various leadership positions of the Assembly.
“This is now to inform you that the party has not sanctioned any changes in the party leadership including but not limited to the office of the Deputy Leader of majority and Deputy Majority Whip,” he wrote.
Twenty-four out of 34 MCAs have since appended their signatures in support of the impeachment motion with Public Participation on the impeachment motion now slated for September 13, 2024, across all the five sub-counties of Nyamira.
Following the death of Mr Osiemo, his party fronted Mr Abel Mokaya as the new House majority Leader, a seat that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was already salivating for.
ODM, with four (4) elected members and three (3) nominated ones, claimed the Majority Leader position and fronted Township Ward MCA Duke Masira, a move that was rejected by Mr Okero.
In February 2024, nine non-UPA members petitioned the PPDT demanding that it strip UPA of the position of majority leadership in the House.
The applicants were Josiah Mang'era, Charles Nyarango, Duke Masira, Thomas Benecha, Henry Obwaya, James Nyachaki, Thadeus Ndubi, Evans Juma, and Josephine Atunga.
Five different political parties represented in the Assembly are under the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party umbrella.
They are UPA (9/8), ODM (7), Wiper (4), Jubilee (2), and Kenya National Congress, KNC (1); giving a total of 24 members.
The Kenya Kwanza Coalition, on the other hand, has a total of 10 members, consisting of Ford Kenya (4), United Democratic Movement, UDA (2), Amani National Congress, ANC (2) and PPK (2).
The nine MCAs told the PPDT that the Azimio Coalition Party, with 24 both elected and nominated members, is the majority, and thus should be the one to elect those who fill the majority leadership positions.
They argued that even if the UPA party were to be removed from Azimio, the coalition would still enjoy a majority membership of 14, noting that UPA has just eight members.
There also exist tensions between Speaker Okero and Assembly Clerk Daniel Orina to the detriment of service delivery.
Their differences played out in the Senate in June this year when the two appeared to outrightly read from different scripts as Senators grilled them over a multimillion County Assembly building whose construction is behind schedule.
Mr Orina told Senators that the contractor was on site and the construction was 70 percent complete whereas the speaker said the contractor was not on site.
The duo could not also agree on the amount of money that the contractor had been paid. Mr Orina would days later appear before the Nyamira County Assembly Service Board (CASB) where he faced accusations of indiscipline.
Mr Duke Onyari is currently acting as the clerk of the Assembly.
