Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro has taken charge of the county after the court barred Governor Ferdinand Waititu from accessing his office due to criminal charges.
Waititu was on Monday charged with involvement in the award of a Sh588 million illegal roads tender. He was freed on Sh15 million bail.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi last Friday ruled that a governor implicated in a criminal case should not be allowed to access their office.
Nyoro chaired his first Cabinet meeting where he vowed to work with all county executive committee members and the chief officers.
“We will not focus on the past and we have agreed to work together to move forward with the projects that have already been initiated. We will also make sure county workers are paid,” he said.
Nyoro has in the past publicly said he has been locked out of Cabinet meetings and fallen out with the governor. He said there was graft happening in the county leadership.
The feud has played out many times in public since they assumed office even in front of Deputy President William Ruto with Nyoro accusing Waititu of undermining him and not involving him on county matters. One time, he said, he found his office flooded with water.
In May, Nyoro accused Waititu of presiding over a corrupt administration that was milking the county treasury dry. He said the governor was running the county as a one-man show and "politicising the audit report that had alleged corruption".
Nyoro called upon county leaders to come together and forge a way forward of how best Kiambu people can be served and development achieved.
“We need selfless leadership where we listen to our people and act upon their needs."
The acting governor told Kiambu assembly members to put aside their differences and focus on serving the electorate.
Earlier on, a section Kiambu MCAs had convened a press brief at the assembly precincts saying they welcomed court's decision to lock out of office those charged with graft.
“We have given evidence even to the DCI of how public funds have been misused and lost within the county and we would want action to be taken since this is Kiambu people’s money,” Biashara MCA Elijah Njoroge said.
Njoroge said he has drafted a motion to impeach Waititu, saying it is almost complete and will be presented in the assembly in two weeks.
Ndenderu's Solomon Kinuthia accused Assembly Speaker Stephen Ndicho of contributing to graft "since he had colluded with Waititu’s government to loot public coffers and will also be impeached".
“It is unfortunate our speaker is also involved in the making the house look like it is corrupt. We have evidence of this which we have already portrayed it in public and we will clean up our house so our people can get what they deserve,” Kinuthia said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
