• Former chief of staff–who was touted as a possible candidate–was last week picked as a chief officer.
• MCAs have been split over who should take the office that has been empty for three months.
Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok has settled on county assembly speaker Shadrack Rotich as his deputy ending a long wait characterised by speculation and anxiety.
In a letter to the county assembly on Tuesday, Barchok nominated Rotich for vetting and subsequent approval.
In what seems to have gotten many by surprise, Rotich who was chairing the afternoon session had to excuse himself and delegate his responsibilities saying, "due to some reasons I will ask my deputy to take over from here".
The nomination of Rotich, however, follows sharp divisions in the assembly over the nomination of an individual for the position that has been vacant for three months now.
Former Chepalungu MP Paul Bii has been the frontrunner for the position splitting the house down the middle with a majority of the ward representatives insisting the position must go to Sotik.
Barchok took over on August 8 following the death of Governor Joyce Laboso to cancer. The family of Laboso has, however, been silent over the matter on who from the family should be nominated.
During the burial of Laboso, several women leaders prevailed upon Barchok to appoint a woman from the family as his deputy.
But in what signalled that the family would miss out on the position, former chief of staff Jayne Sigilai–who was touted as a possible candidate–was last week picked as a chief officer in the Department of Youth, Gender and Social Services.
The nominee (Rotich) will now be subjected to the House committee on Appointments before it is brought to the floor for debate.
At the same time, the governor nominated Alex Nge'no as the chairman of the county Public Service Board, Patrick Maritim ICT chief executive committee nominee and Emily Chelangat Seronei for Gender and Social Services.
Rotich was until 2013, when he joined politics, running against former Governor Isaac Rutto, a finance and administration manager at the association of local government authorities of Kenya (Algak).
He also served as a secondary school teacher at Maseno, Kabianga and Tengecha schools in the 1980s.
After losing the election in 2013, he was elected as the Bomet Jubilee secretary general before giving a stab on the county assembly speaker's position where he emerged the winner from among other contestants.
Edited by R.Wamochie