Why MCAs should not have the final say on Speakers impeachment

Johnson Osoi, the former Kajiado Speaker, says that the power to oust a County Speaker should not be entirely bestowed on the MCAs but should also be shared by the Senate.

According to Osoi, internal strifes within the County Assembly can leave the speaker vulnerable to the MCAs and thus the Senate should be allowed to come in and offer an ultimatum to the fate on the speaker in a bid to award them a fair hearing.

"We need to have the speaker’s impeachment being a matter that is two-tier in nature, let the MCAs not have the final say whether they are impeaching the speaker or the governor," Osoi said in an interview with Citizen TV's JKLive Show on Wednesday night.

"Let the Senate listen to and give an opportunity to the speaker to defend himself."

His counterpart from Nyandarua County Ndegwa Wahome who was also on the platform underscored the need to have the Senate in the picture as a vetting body saying that since the lawmakers are mandated an oversight role to devolution, they would ensure issues in the counties are streamlined.   

Citing his experience as a speaker who has faced the most impeachment attempts, Wahome said the Senate would play a vital role in bringing about the sanity of affairs at the counties.

"To give the minister for local governments powers over the county, it will be very dangerous. the senate should be able to process all the issues concerning the speakers and everybody within devolution," Wahome said.

On his part, ex-Kiambu County Speaker Stephen Ndichu urged the incoming Speakers to be watchful of their clerks and other top employees who may plot their downfalls.

Ndichu claimed that the clerks are mostly behind the attempts to oust a speaker as long as they have substantial evidence.

"The best thing I would want to advise the new speakers, you must be very should be very careful with clerks," he noted.

He added: " Be very careful with those characters called clerks, unless you play their game, you are there on hellfire and for the five years you are gonna be there, it is going to be hell unless you are going to toughen yourself."