Nairobi MCAs want county disbanded as chaos persists
Mr Abdi Guyo, who was ousted as Nairobi County Assembly majority leader arguing with police officers after rival MCAs stormed his office on November 11, 2019. MCAs have called for the dissolution of the county government following the chaos. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Jubilee MCAs want the ruling party to call for a caucus to find an amicable solution to the wrangles.
- The same MCAs had last week staged a coup, replacing Mr Guyo with Dandora III MCA Charles Thuo.
- On Monday, the rival factions engaged in name-calling and scuffles.
Nairobi MCAs have called for the dissolution of the county government as fracas and supremacy battles continue to rock the assembly.
The ward reps, mostly from Jubilee, want the ruling party’s top leadership to call for a caucus to find an amicable solution to the wrangles.
Alternatively, they want President Uhuru Kenyatta to initiate the process of dissolving the county government.
The calls came following another round of chaos at the assembly on Monday when MCAs allied to Speaker Beatrice Elachi tried to forcibly evict Majority Leader Abdi Guyo from his office.
GUYO REPLACED
The same MCAs had last week staged a coup, replacing Mr Guyo with Dandora III MCA Charles Thuo. They also replaced Majority Whip Waithera Chege with nominated MCA June Ndegwa.
Ziwani Kariokor MCA Millicent Mugadi was made deputy majority leader to replace Riruta MCA James Kiriba.
But the changes were opposed by the faction supporting Mr Guyo, who termed the process illegal.
On Monday, the rival factions engaged in name-calling and scuffles, which saw the door of the majority leader’s office broken down, teargas used and blows exchanged.
ROWDY MCAS
Calm was restored when Nairobi Central DCIO Samuel Kobina intervened.
The rowdy MCAs were dispersed while those allied to Mr Guyo were escorted out of the assembly.
Mr Guyo, also the Matopeni MCA, said the party should call for new elections of its leadership in the assembly but if that cannot happen, the county government should be dissolved.
“It is very sad that Nairobi is turning into a county of hooliganism. I am asking the party to call for a caucus so that this standoff can be resolved once and for all. But if this situation continues, we will ask the President to dissolve this county so that we can go back to elections,” said Mr Guyo.
His nemesis, Ms Mugadi, supported the call, saying the county should be disbanded to give way for fresh elections.
RESTORE SANITY
She called on President Kenyatta to intervene and restore sanity in the assembly.
She also implored the Director of Criminal Investigations to investigate illegalities allegedly committed by former members of the County Assembly Service Board.
“We need order to get back to work. But if we continue like this, Nairobi will be disbanded. It is embarrassing as we are always fighting in courts and carrying weapons, tarnishing the county’s image,” said Ms Mugadi.
The MCAs have been engaged in supremacy wars over the control of the assembly since the return of Speaker Elachi last month.
The wrangles have seen Clerk Jacob Ngwele sent on a one-month compulsory leave and barred from accessing his office, Mr Guyo and Minority Leader Elias Otieno removed from the assembly board and now the coup in the Jubilee leadership wing.
But Mr Thuo maintained that he was elected by a majority of Jubilee MCAs to take the position of majority leader, accusing Mr Guyo of being an “imposter”.
