ODM chief Raila Odinga's wife Ida has condemned the chaotic session in the Kisumu county assembly during the removal of Speaker Onyango Oloo.
Ida said the assembly is for debate on issues that concern Kenyans and not a fistfight arena.
She told the MCAs to stop wrangles and confrontation in the assembly and instead focus on enacting laws beneficial to the electorate.
The MCAs on Tuesday elected Elisha Oraro as acting speaker until Oloo is cleared of corruption charges.
“Voters are not interested in how strong or physically fit you are but what you can deliver to them to improve their living standards,” Ida said.
She urged MCAs to compete through debates noting that violence scares away women from leadership.
“We want to see the MCAs debating constructively on matters affecting us. People have various ideologies and such should be expressed in a decorum and mature manner."
Ida spoke during the handing over of a 12-classroom building at Wadiege Primary School in Kisumu East on Wednesday.
The Sh37 million storeyed building has been funded by the National Government Constituency Development Fund.
Governor Anyang' Nyong’o, deputy Governor Mathews Owili, Kisumu East MP Shakeel Shabir and his Nyando counterpart Jared Okelo were present.
Kisumu is the bedrock of ODM party, Ida said, urging leaders to advocate for democracy and peace "which Raila stands for".
“Both elected and nominated leaders in the county must ensure integrity. You must respect the party’s ideologies.”
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji last Friday called for the prosecution of Oloo over graft claims.
He is accused of receiving a Sh17 million bribe to authorise irregularities in the building of the Lake Basin Mall. This allegedly led to the inflation of the cost from Sh2.1 billion to Sh4.1 billion.
Oloo denied the charges in a Milimani court on Monday. He was granted Sh10 million bail.
There was a stand-off at the assembly for the better part of Tuesday as MCAs engaged in a fistfight over the election of the North Kisumu ward MCA in Oloo's place.
Chaos began when deputy speaker Roy Samo, who was presiding over the sitting, was forcibly ejected from the seat.
Samo was accused of shielding the speaker. As a section of the MCAs fought, Samo adjourned the assembly to next week.
The sergeants-at-arms did everything they could to protect the mace which is the symbol of authority in the assembly. One was slapped in the face.
Some MCAs who are loyal to Oloo walked out of the assembly as clerks ran away from the chambers. Later, the sergeants-at-arms also walked out in protest after their colleagues were roughed up.
Thereafter, the speaker’s panellist Inviolate Adhiambo took over the assembly business and Oraro was sworn in.
Majority leader Kenneth Onyango, who moved the acting speaker’s election motion, said 29 members had signed a petitioned presented to the clerk demanding for the election of an acting speaker.
Police officers were deployed to the assembly. Some MCAs who sought anonymity said they already have ODM's red light to elect Oraro as the acting speaker.
However, MCAs allied to Oloo claimed the process would be illegal and vowed to keep off.
Edited by R.Wamochie
