• Boniface Osanga said being on the government side forced him to dance to the tune of the government.
• Faruk, a first-term MCA, said the experience he had in the assembly forced him not to seek reelection.
Kakamega MCAs say they have realised they have not done much for their people in the five years they have been in office.
The MCAs, who were speaking during the adjournment motion for the second assembly last Friday, said they abdicated their resposibility to serve the interests of the electorate and instead served that of the executive.
Boniface Osanga, the Khalaba ward representative who is serving his second term in the assembly, said being on the government side forced him to dance to the tune of the government.
“Mr Speaker in this second assembly, it was very hard for me. I was forced to be a 'yes man' because if you say no, and you are in government, you find yourself on the wrong side.”
Isukha South MCA Faruk Machanje said the assembly has failed terribly on matters oversight. He said they gave the executive the advantage of having control over the house.
“We were not able to stand firm and point out where it was wrong or right and because the government side had the majority they always represented the interests of the executive arm,” he said.
Faruk, a first-term MCA, said the experience he had in the assembly forced him not to seek reelection.
Nominated MCA Jackline Okanya said they forgot their mandate, which includes representation, oversight and legislation.
“We lost sight of those we were representing, whose laws we were legislating and who we were to oversight. Instead, members traded their loyalty to their parties and left those who elected them out of the picture,” she said.
Musa Makhabila of Lugari said the ward reps did not pass any bill that is directly beneficial to the mwananchi.
“Compared to the first house, this one had many elites, yet it has performed very poorly because we engaged in the contest of show of might and level of education. We never considered the interests of those who voted for us," he said.
"There is no single development project that we can confidently point to in our wards to show what we have done.”
David Ndakwa (West Kabras) accused the speaker of being a weak link in the assembly which caused several impeachment threats against him.
"Mr Speaker it’s because of your indecisiveness and failure to understand that this is a house guided by laws that we all failed. You didn’t act according to the law but acted to satisfy someone’s interests,” he said.
“Members have been short-changed here. They have not had their own mind in making decisions because the arm of the executive has been in operation in this house.”
Majority whip Boniface Akosi, who is also the Shinoy-Shikomari-Esumeyia MCA, sought to know the fate of pending bills for the outgoing MCAs.
“It’s important to note that as we end our session today, several of these honourable members have so many pending issues that ought to be addressed as they exit," he said.
"We have worked for this assembly and in line of duty we’ve incurred expenses that to-date have not been met. It is important that this should be addressed.”