The Kakamega county assembly building was condemned by public health officers and should have been torn down before the advent of devolution.
The assembly was set up in the early 1950s by the colonialists. It was used as the local native council for representatives from the North Kavirondo. After the colonialists left, the building was used by the defunct Kakamega County Council.
Kakamega Majority leader Joel Ongoro, and an official who declined to be named, told the Star yesterday that the building is unfit for occupation.
“The chamber is not insured. You cannot insure a condemned building. It is a disaster waiting to happen. If the building collapses and members are injured, they cannot be compensated,” the said.
A new assembly was supposed to be set up at a cost of Sh500 million but it stalled in 2016 after an Asian businessman went to court and claimed ownership of land that was earmarked for the project. The matter is still in court.
The Ministry of Lands this year said the parcel located along Fitina road belongs to government.
The county executive has been allocating funds for a new chamber every financial year, but the cash has been recalled in subsequent supplementary budgets. This year Sh50 million had been allocated in the budget for buying land.
Majority leader Ongoro said the biggest challenge they are facing is getting land.
“If we fail to find suitable land for the new premise, we will pull down the current chambers and put up a new one. Whatever was gazetted by the Transition Authority was not spacious to accommodate all members and staff,” he said.
A fortnight ago, MCAs planned to impeach speaker Morris Buluma. They accused him of absconding duty.
However, Governor Wycliffe Oparanya intervened and saved his job after holding meetings with all MCAs.
Sources told the Star that Oparanya instead vouched for the removal of the entire assembly leadership and not the speaker alone.
