• Tuju warned of disciplinary action to the speaker and any other member opposed to the changes.
• Speaker Elachi said the interim leaders will continue serving the party
Image: EZEKIEL AMINGA
Nairobi County Assembly as Speaker Elachi has stood her ground insisting that 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.
This comes after on Wednesday Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphel Tuju confirmed that the leadership changes were final.
In the changes made in April, Matopeni MCA Abdi Ibrahim Hassan was reinstated as the Majority leader with Dandora Area 1 MCA Peter Wanyoike as his deputy.
Mihango MCA Paul Kados was picked as the Majority Whip and deputized by South B MCA Waithera Chege.
However, in her communication, Speaker Elachi stated that a party SG has no role in communicating to the speaker a decision to effect changes in the party’s House leadership with the same lying with the party’s whip as per Standing Order 20 (8) of the assembly.
She also highlighted that the intended changes by the Jubilee Party fall short of the requirements of Standing Order 20.
“The 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 Speaker noted as much as she acknowledged that a political party has the onus of nominating its leadership in the Assembly as well as the decision to change party leadership in the assembly is a preserve of a political party.
She made it clear that after the elections, the process of replacement and removal shall be fully subjected to the rules and procedures of the assembly.
Elachi added it was is in line with precedence set by the Senate in the removal of both Senators Moses Wetangula and Kipchumba Murkomen as minority leader and majority leader respectively.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI
Suspended Leader?
The former Senator also stated that a member who has been suspended from the assembly cannot assume the role of house leadership.
Last week, the assembly suspended Hon. Abdi Ibrahim Hassan for four months assembly sittings for missing 11 plenary sittings.
This was despite a court order barring the County Assembly Powers and privileges committee from investigating and punishing him.
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.
Interim leadership unlawful
The Speaker 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 on October 2019.
Last Wednesday he made it clear that the replaced leaders were only appointed into the positions on an interim basis and they now stand replaced.
According to Tuju, the interim leadership was led by Dandora Area 3 representative Charles Thuo who was deputized by Ziwani MCA Millicent Mugadi.
The Majority Whip was occupied by nominated MCA June Ndegwa and deputized by California MCA Abdikadir Mohamed.
However, the Speaker stated that the County Assembly Standing Orders does not provide for interim party leadership as there is no a provision of the law that contemplates a situation where the parties/coalitions can designate interim leaders.
“As far as the County Assembly is concerned, once leadership has procedurally been removed and replaced, it does not concern the County Assembly whether in the eyes of the party the leadership so designated is interim or not," Elachi said.
" The assertion that the current Majority Leadership in the County Assembly is interim does not stand since the law as presently enacted does not contemplate a political party to designate interim leaders in the County Assembly.”
As a result, Elachi said as the Speaker she was unable to act on the correspondence from the Secretary-General of the Jubilee Party and cannot effect the desired changes in the form so presented.
She noted that her role as the Chair was to guide the assembly to ensure strict adherence to the Standing Orders and precedents set.
“As the Speaker of the Assembly, I am bound to apply the rules of the Assembly without fear or favour, especially in cases where the Standing Orders have expressly provided for the matter in question,” Elachi said