• Elachi has told Omanga to instead seek ways of helping the legislator to avoid being surcharged.
• The senator on Monday had accused Elachi of making a unilateral decision without considering the health status of the ousted MCA.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi has asked nominated senator Millicent Omanga to stop politicising the decision to declare vacant the seat of nominated Jubilee MCA Habiba Hussein.
Elachi has told Omanga to instead seek ways of helping the legislator to avoid being surcharged.
The senator on Monday had accused Elachi of making a unilateral decision without considering the health status of the ousted MCA.
According to Omanga, Habiba has been suffering from several complications after her delivery in 2018.
However, according to Elachi, the legislator failed to follow the stipulations of the law on legislators affected with terminal diseases.
"Under the constitution, she failed to do the simple thing of submitting a report on the terminal disease ailing her. I don't know why she has not done that for two years," Elachi said.
The Speaker explained that her decision stems from a Directorate of Criminal Investigations inquiry over the alleged unethical and corrupt appointment of officials in the county government.
In a letter seen by the Star dated February 21, 2020, the DCI had asked the clerk of the county assembly to furnish it with all documents in relation to the appointment of Habiba Hussein as an MCA.
"If she (Omanga) wants to help Habiba l will send her to the DCI and know why we arrived at this decision," Elachi said.
The Speaker also said that her decision to end Habiba's tenure will exonerate the MCA from any future charges.
"She (Omanga) said l am a sadist, demonic woman. This demonic woman saved Habiba because she doesn't have money to refund this assembly,” she said
Elachi, however, admitted that she is in possession of Habiba's pregnancy report and that she even visited her and requested back in 2018 that she writes a letter on her absence.
“It is sad to watch the young MCA leave like this but she should have come before the committee and submitted the medical reports that are now circulating in the media,” she said.
It was revealed that the MCA had been earning a salary to up to 31 November 31, 2019, and was removed from the payroll in December 2019.
Highlighting the Constitution, Elachi said the law says in the event a legislator misses eight consecutive sittings, the speaker has powers to declare the seat vacant.
She also mentioned that the Public Service Act states that if a public servant misses work for 10 days, the person is removed from the payroll.
In addition, Elachi said that the Jubilee Party is necessitated to nominated another member.
“The party can refer into its list and choose who to nominate next,”she said.