• Tuju directed the new leadership to communicate with Elachi on the changes as per the Standing Orders.
• Elachi insists Tuju should formally write to her about the changes.
A fresh round of Jubilee infighting is simmering in the Nairobi county assembly over the appointment of new house leadership.
Jubilee made changes on Thursday last week in an attempt to finally end the internal tussles that have rocked the assembly since the return of speaker Beatrice Elachi last October.
However, Elachi says she is yet to receive communication from party secretary general Raphael Tuju on the changes.
Matopeni MCA Abdi Hassan Guyo was reinstated as the majority leader deputised by Dandora II MCA Peter Wanyoike. Guyo replaced Dandora III MCA Charles Thuo.
June Ndegwa (nominated) was removed as the majority whip and replaced by Paul Kados (Mihang’o) who will be deputised by South B's Waithera Chege.
In a letter to Kados dated April 16, Tuju said the party consulted on the matter before arriving at the decision to effect the changes.
“On November 12, 2019, we wrote to the speaker of the county assembly setting up an interim house leadership that has served in the assembly from the date of the said letter to date," Tuju wrote.
He said the change of leadership was in accordance with the Political Parties Act 2012 that vests the powers of designation of leadership in the county assembly to the majority or minority party.
This is also in compliance with Article 20 of the Nairobi County Assembly Standing Orders.
The letter said the decision to change the leadership was arrived at after a meeting of Jubilee secretary general, vice-chairman David Murathe and State House deputy chief of staff Njee Muturi.
The decision was sealed after receiving the final word from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Tuju directed the new leadership to notify the speaker in the usual format of communication to the assembly as per the Standing Orders.
The letter was copied to Governor Mike Sonko and Elachi.
The changes are said to have been delivered physically to Elachi's office and also through her email and Whatsapp addresses.
However, upon receipt of the changes this week, Elachi said Jubilee should send a letter to the office of the speaker for tabling.
“My leader, I have not refuted anything. Letters addressed to me have to be tabled on the floor of the house. Remember when Ngara MCA was the acting speaker he set a precedent on Elias Otieno. The first leadership only had verbal communication,” she said.
“Jubilee set another precedent by sending official letters to table on the floor of the house addressed to the speaker. Jubilee knows how to send letters to the speaker for tabling. When that is done we shall do the right thing when we get back,” Elachi added.
However, the new leadership says there is no provision in the Standing Orders for the speaker to communicate to the house and accuses her of trying to buy time.
They say the majority whip’s communication is supposed to be final just like what the Senate and National Assembly do.
In 2018, the minority side had internal wrangles when ODM chairman John Mbadi wrote to acting speaker Chege Mwaura to effect changes in the leadership.
Mbadi wrote two letters insisting on the changes but ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna wrote the final letter to the speaker.
No changes were to be effected until such time as he communicated, Sifuna wrote, noting that he was the authorised officer to issue correspondence on behalf of the party and all its organs.
In his ruling, Chege made reference to the National Assembly and the Senate on who was the lawful authority to make and communicate the decision of the minority appointing its leadership.
“Speaker Muturi made a determination on the prescribed procedure outlined in the National Assembly Standing Order 20(4), which requires such communication to be made by the whip and the minutes of the meeting in which the decision was made attached,” he said.
In the Senate, with regards to the removal of Moses Wetang'ula as the leader of minority and his replacement by James Orengo, minority whip Mutula Kilonzo Jnr on March 15, 2018, wrote to Speaker Kenneth Lusaka on the changes, and attached ODM's letter with minutes of the resolution.
Edited by Henry Makori