• Raphael Tuju reaffirmed the changes in a meeting with MCAs last Wednesday.
• But Elachi said the changes do not meet the provisions of assembly rules.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI
A showdown is looming at City Hall after a faction led by Majority Leader designate Abdi Ibrahim Guyo threatened to disregard Speaker Beatrice Elachi and assume leadership roles.
This comes as Elachi on Thursday in her communication said the “intended” changes by Jubilee Party have fallen short of requirements of provisions of the laws governing the assembly and the current interim leaders will continue serving the party.
Guyo and Mihango MCA Paul Kados, picked as Majority Chief Whip, have accused Elachi of bias and protested her continued failure to confirm them as the new leaders in the Assembly.
“In the circumstances, and seeing as nothing will sway your bias, be advised therefore….we shall each proceed to take our roles as mandated by the Jubilee party….” Kados said in a protest letter to Elachi on Thursday.
While terming Elachi’s action as ‘blatant impunity and bias,’ Kados said that the changes met the provision of the Assembly Standing Orders adding all they have submitted to her all the relevant documents to the effect.
Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju has twice written to the Elachi in as many months designating Guyo and Kados as Majority leader and Chief Whip respectively.
They are deputized by Peter Wanyoike (Dandora Area 1) and Waithera Chege (South B) respectively.
Tuju reaffirmed the party’s position last Wednesday after a closed-door meeting with all the 66 Jubilee MCAs aimed at ending wrangles that have rocked the camp since October 2019.
Elachi’s stand
However, she has not affected the changes, explaining the intended changes and the party letters did not meet the requirements of the Assembly Standing Orders.
In a seven-page communication to the House last Thursday, titled, ‘Ruling on the matter of changes in majority party’s leadership in the county assembly,’ Elachi listed myriads of reasons for her failure to communicate the changes.
The speaker said the Tuju’s letters did not meet standing order 20 (8) that requires such communication to come from the Whip.
In addition, they were not accompanied with minutes and a list of two-thirds of Jubilee MCAs supporting the intended changes.
“Standing Order contemplates such decision to be supported by evidence of a two-thirds vote by the membership of a Party or Coalition of Parties in the Assembly, as evidenced by Minutes of such Resolution and as Communicated by the Whip of the Majority/Minority party or Coalition of Parties,” Elachi said.
The former Senator also stated that a member who has been suspended from the assembly cannot assume a role of house leadership.
Last week, the assembly suspended Hon. Abdi Ibrahim Hassan for a period of four months assembly sittings for missing 11 plenary sittings.
Elachi explained that Guyo as one of the party leaders will only lead to paralysis of assembly business as a member who has been suspended from assembly sittings cannot assume a role of House leadership since such a member cannot transact business in the assembly.
She indicated that on April 25, 2020, she had written to the party revealing that the legislator was facing suspension from the assembly for missing assembly sittings.
“It is therefore surprising that the former majority leader is one of the nominees by the Party even after the chair forewarned the Party on the likelihood of the Member facing a suspension for breach of both the Constitution and the Standing Orders,” she stated.
Speaker Elachi further stated that the law does not recognize an “interim” leadership where the parties/coalitions can designate as indicated by the Tuju.
In his first later on the changes in April 2020, Tuju highlighted that the party had put an interim leadership last year in November in an attempt to bring stability amidst the chaos that had rocked the county assembly in October 2019.
But in the letter, Kados said he notified of the speaker of the intended changes and submitted the relevant documents in compliance with the Assembly Standing Orders.
“Firstly, the Whip of the Jubilee Party, being the undersigned, duly wrote a note to you on April 15, 2020, and indeed delivered to you a letter from my office communicating these changes accompanies by minutes and a list of attendance indicative of the two-thirds threshold," reads the letter in part.
It adds, “Also, that decision and the minutes plus the list of attendants was communicated to you via WhatsApp on April 22, 2020 and which you blue ticked as received at 7.25 am.”
Kados said the same letter was copied to Tuju on April 16, 2020, prompting the SG to write a letter to her on April 25 communicating the changes.
Tuju reaffirmed the position in a letter dated May 28 to which Elachi stated that she would engage the party leader on the same.
“Jubilee party has to sit with the party leader and deal with this mater. Before that, this house remains with the same leadership and I will write to Jubilee,” the speaker had ruled on June 2.
Concerning Guyo suspension, Kados argued that the same was stayed by the High Court in its temporary order issued last Monday.
“In any case, the purported suspension of the majority leader was stopped by the court, which orders you were served,” reads the letter.