Uhuru meeting could have sealed Elachi's fate

After a series of internal assembly wrangles, Beatrice Elachi yesterday threw in the towel and quit her position as speaker of the Nairobi assembly.

Elachi, the first female speaker in the House, became a victim of endless Jubilee Party leadership wrangles in the assembly, power struggles pitting her against suspended clerk Jacob Ngwele and the supremacy battles between Mike Sonko and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

In view of the goings-on, it has merged that a secret meeting held two weeks ago discussed and sealed Elachi’s fate. The Star has established the meeting was chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta and was attended by 41 MCAs, who were planning to impeach her.

The powerful state machinery is said to have been very upset by the chaos that marred the assembly last month and brought the capital city into disrepute. A decision had to be taken to restore order.

“The President was very angry and he called our MCAs to inquire about the chaos and we all went to State House. His Excellency sat and gave us a listening ear and we explained the grievances we were facing in the assembly. He promised to solve the wrangles in two or three weeks,” a source who attended the meeting told the Star.

The source indicated that Uhuru also said he would deal with anyone troubling the NMS, even if it was Governor Mike Sonko.

On July 28, police officers unleashed brute force on MCAs at the assembly. Mlango Kubwa MCA Patriciah Mutheu suffered injuries after she was whipped, kicked and dragged on the floor. She was hospitalised and later lodged complaints with the police. 

The chaos erupted when the officers blocked MCAs who had gone to the assembly to serve Elachi with notice of motion for her impeachment. The incident drew widespread condemnation. What followed next was a mini reshuffle of police officers.

Kilifi county police boss James Mugera was named the new Nairobi region deputy police commander. He swapped places with Stephen Matu. Taita Taveta county police commander Saidi Kiprotich was moved to Nairobi as head of operations.

Elachi had been accused of ruling the assembly with an iron fist, a move that saw her fall out with the majority of Jubilee MCAs and a few Minority members. She, however, found solace in the support from the rest of the MCAs. Two camps emerged, with one side being pro-Elachi/NMS and the other against her. 

For many, Elachi resignation came as a shock. She had made her comeback at the assembly on October 9 last year after being out following her impeachment on September 6, 2018.

Her resignation might have been either to save herself from a second impeachment or she was coaxed into doing so in an attempt to restore order at the assembly.

She had gone on record saying Governor Sonko was behind all her tribulations and fighting an imaginary battle with her when the real war was between him and the NMS. Elachi blamed the chaos on Sonko's attempts to control county coffers, adding that the governor viewed her as the obstacle to his plans.

She on Monday said it was the right time to quit. “Last time I left with my head down, this time I leave with my head high, without force," she said.

"I humbly tender my resignation to President Uhuru Kenyatta. For the last few days, there have been life-threatening incidents. I appoint my deputy speaker, John Kamangu, as acting speaker.”

Legal questions, however, abound whether her resignation will stand as it is not clear whether she forwarded a letter to the assembly clerk. According to Standing Orders 5 (d), resignation of the speaker is by way of a letter addressed to the clerk and conveyed to the assembly by the chairperson of committees.

However, Elachi resignation came by word of mouth through a live coverage done from the Office of the Speaker at the county assembly.

If it is accepted, the MCAs will have to elect her replacement. They cannot perform any other business before that is achieved, as the office has fallen vacant before the end of the term of the assembly. 

Intrigues behind Elachi’s resignation

They say where there is smoke, there is fire. And this was the case in Elachi's troubled stay at the helm of the assembly. Her woes can be traced back to May this year when there were claims of her falling-out with some senior party officials. This came after the former senator rejected leadership changes in the assembly.

Despite party secretary general Raphael Tuju doing three letters notifying her of the change of leadership in the assembly, Elachi said it fell short of legal requirements.

The changes were to discharge the interim leadership that had been serving since November 2019 led by Dandora III MCA Charles Thuo (Majority leader). Others were Kariokor MCA Millicent Mugadi (deputy Majority leader), June Ndegwa (Majority whip) and California MCA Hassan Abdiqadir.

Jubilee Party reinstated Abdi Guyo as the Majority leader, deputised by Peter Wanyoike, Paul Kados as the Majority Whip and deputised Waithera Chege.

But Elachi maintained the status quo would remain until the issue was reviewed in consultation with the party leader.

“Jubilee Party has to sit with the party leader to deal with this matter. Before that, this House remains with the same leadership. I will write to Jubilee and we shall deal with the matter next week,” she ruled.

At this point, Tuju termed the remarks "new", saying the party leader normally communicates any changes to the house leadership through the secretary general. “That is a new one. Normally, communication comes from the secretary general. The party leader rarely writes to anybody,” he said.

He reiterated that even in his capacity as the President, Uhuru does not personally write to government agencies. He does so through Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

Impeachment plans on

Despite Elachi’s resignation, MCAs have said her impeachment plan is still on course. Elachi and deputy speaker John Kamangu are facing ouster. More than 70 MCAs have lost confidence in her and signed for her removal.

Nominated MCA Silvia Museiya, who is behind the impeachment motion, said she will call off the plan only if her resignation is according to the law.

“Our aim was to remove the speaker in office and if she has resigned according to the law then, we shall carry on with the next plan,” she said.

The MCAs cited various grounds for their renewed push to impeach Elachi. They include militarisation of the assembly, referring to the presence of police; abuse of office; illegal appointment of the assembly clerk; impunity; poor leadership; financial irregularities; victimisation of MCAs and assembly staff; and disregard for the law.

On the other hand, Dandora II MCA Silas Matara, who is sponsoring the impeachment motion against Kamangu, has accused him of incompetence. In a letter dated July 27 from Office of the Clerk to Kamangu, at least 56 MCAs had appended their signatures in support of his impeachment.

South B ward rep Waithera Chege told the Star the speaker and the deputy speaker will still be impeached as per the law.

"As far as we are concerned, Elachi’s resignation was her own initiative. Our diary is ongoing and the impeachment plan is on,” she said.

Backing her sentiments, Roysambu MCA Peter Warutere said the MCAs were not taking any chances.

“Elachi as a speaker failed to acknowledged the President’s orders on the Jubilee Party. It shows that she is against the President and therefore we have to impeach her,” she said.