- A petition by two voters has so far received 55, 000 signatures, way nearly double the intended 28,000.
- But Ottichilo has rubbished the petition and declared that he is not moved.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo has rubbished a petition by two voters seeking to suspend the county government over alleged violation of the Constitution and underperformance by his administration.
In an exclusive interview with the Star in his office in Mbale, Ottichilo said the initiative is driven by personal vendetta, meant to distract his development agenda and make him look like a lame duck ahead of the 2022 Geeneral Election.
The petition has nothing to do with the people of Vihiga, he said.
“I don’t know where these people are coming from because no forum has ever been held in this county to discuss my failures or successes and resolved that they want to suspend their county government because of this or that,” Ottichilo said.
“I will only account to the people of Vihiga what I have done to them and what I didn’t and why they should give me a second chance.”
Two voters from Vihiga, Joseph Simekha and former county secretary Francis Ominde, launched collection of signatures three weeks ago to accompany the petition to be presented to the President for action.
In the petition, the two have raised several accusations against Ottichilo's administration including alleged gross violation of the Constitution that has resulted to over 25 court cases against the county government.
They say the numerous litigations have resulted in damage awards that are eating into county resources that would otherwise go to development.
The petitioners also accuse Ottichillo’s government of defiance of court orders, over-hiring leading to a bloated wage bill, negative ethnicity and failure by the county assembly to hold the governor accountable.
The petition has so far received 55,000 signatures, almost double the intended 28,000.
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Interview excerpts:
Why do you think the petitioners want to remove you from office?
All this is about 2022. The petitioners, despite being members of my ODM party, have teamed up with my political opponents who hope to oppose me at the General Election. I am not surprised that they are working with my deputy Patrick Saisi who has declared that he will oppose me in 2022.
These people have always orchestrated such schemes any time I am launching major development projects in the county. When I launched the expansion and renovation of the county referral hospital, they engineered my impeachment that failed in 2018. Right now they started their signature collection a day after I launched the first ICU ward and an oxygen plant in the county. All these are meant to divert attention of the voters from my development initiatives.
The petitioners have accused your government of promoting negative ethnicity. What do have to say?
This is hearsay. The competing interests among the three major communities in the county ended when each got it’s own administrative unit (districts). Fate has however brought us back together through devolution. When I took over, I formed a council of elders bringing together all sub-dialects of Maragoli, Banyore and Tiriki and another for the religious communities with the aim of attaining cohesion in the county in line with my campaign manifesto. This is the only county with a ward development fund to ensure even development, selected by the people themselves.
Your administration has been accused of violating the rights of county staff and contractors who have filed cases in court and awarded damages, occasioning loss on the county government. What’s your take?
We have not lost any case as a county. The cases in court are those that were filed by contractors who were not paid from 2013 before I took office as governor. There are only four cases by contractors which the courts directed that we pay and we are paying. Other cases are still active in court and we can't discuss them. The court has never awarded costs of any case against my government.
The petitioners have blamed you for defying valid court orders. Does it mean you don’t believe in the rule of law?
I have never defied any court order. There is no case that has been filed against me for ignoring any court order and if there was, I could have been committed to civil jail or fined if what they are saying is true. The only order that we’re still implementing is the one on health workers. The court directed that we pay the wrongly hired workers which we are doing. We decided that we will pay those who are working. There are those workers who left when we declined to pay them for irregular employment and decided to return when they heard that the court had directed that they be paid and those ones we said we can’t pay them.
They accuse you of seizing control of the county assembly that it is unable to hold you to account. What do you have to say?
There is a clear approach in law on how to hold the county assembly accountable but I have not seen any attempt by the petitioners to do so if there is any ground. The country assembly has summoned me twice to explain issues they feel are not clear and I have appeared in both cases. I did so in 2018 and 2020 when they wanted to impeach me but changed their minds after I satisfactorily responded to their concerns.
There are claims that you have compromised the MCAs by giving them favours including cash tokens and contracts. Is this true?
Let them give evidence of payments or the contracts I have given MCAs. These are mere allegations that are actionable in court. They have also accused the assembly speaker of gross incompetence but they have not given evidence of the incompetencies. The assembly identified the departments that had deficiencies and summoned them, questioned them and recommended their impeachment which has already happened. The same group has filed a petition in the High Court asking the court to declare me unfit to hold public office. The accusations they are making in their petition to suspend the county government are the same ones they have petitioned the High Court to pronounce itself on. Why are they in a hurry to suspend the county if these are not shortcuts to power?
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Should the petition succeed, suspension of the county government means that President Uhuru Kenyatta will have to form a caretaker government to run the devolved unit for 90 days before election of a new governor.
Articles 192 (1) of the Constitution says the President may suspend a county government in an emergency arising out of internal conflict or war or in any other exceptional circumstances.
Article 192(2) says, “A county government shall not be suspended unless an independent commission of inquiry has investigated allegations against the county government, the President is satisfied that the allegations are justified and the Senate has authorised the suspension.
Edited by Henry Makori