- Hit by a wave of impeachments, they are standing with their ousted Wajir colleague, Mohamed Abdi Mohamud
- They want the court to give an interpretation on the threshold of impeaching a governor as well as provide clarity on the assumption of office of a governor
The big concern is that governors can no longer trust their deputies who should be their principal assistantsA governor
Celebrated novelist Chinua Achebe wrote "...let the slave who sees another cast into a shallow grave know that he will be buried in the same way when his day comes."
Governors, hit by a wave of impeachments, are standing with their ousted Wajir colleague, Mohamed Abdi Mohamud.
Last week, Mohamud became the latest county boss to be impeached. Others are Mike Sonko (Nairobi) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu).
The Council of Governors has formally announced it is seeking to be enjoined in the case filed by Mohamud challenging his removal.
The Star has established that governors are concerned their political adversaries could be working with their deputies to spearhead their removal from office.
"The big concern is that governors can no longer trust their deputies who should be their principal assistants," a governor who did not want to be quoted told the Star.
As the second in command, deputy governors are in the know about all county dealings. However, most of them do not see eye-to-eye with their bosses.
Wajir Deputy Governor Ahmed Ali Muktar was sworn in hastily, hours after the Senate impeached his boss.
Muktar has the backing of several county politicians, including Jubilee joint secretary in Parliament Adan Keynan.
A similarly rushed transition took place in Kiambu in 2019 after Ferdinand Waititu's removal.
Through CoG chairman Martin Wambora, the county chiefs defended Mohamud saying his removal was unprocedural.
“The Council of Governors notes the orders by the Honourable High Court in Meru that affirmed the position of Wajir Governor Mohamed Mohamud,” Wambora said.
On Monday, the High Court in Meru referred the case to Chief Justice Martha Koome to appoint a three-judge bench to hear the matter.
The court had issued orders temporarily suspending Mohamud's removal and the swearing-in of his deputy Ahmed Muktar to replace him.
Both Mohamud and Muktar claim to be in charge of the county government, raising fears of a political standoff at the county headquarters.
Wambora warned against the disregard of court orders, even as he hinted the council will apply to be enjoined in the case filed by Mohamud.
The council wants the court to give an interpretation on the threshold of impeaching a governor as well as provide clarity on the assumption of office of a governor.
“The Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court will provide clarity on the threshold of impeaching a governor. The said courts will also provide clarity on attendant process of assumption of office,” Wambora said.
He addressed journalists in Nairobi moments after the council held a meeting to discuss among others, the wave of impeachments that has cost three governors their jobs.
The county chiefs protested what they termed lowered grounds for impeachment, publication of night gazette notices and the hurried swearing-in of deputies of impeached governors.
The governors also protested the delayed release of Sh105.9 billion by the National Treasury.
“The delay has continued to derail our response to the pandemic, payment of pending bills and service delivery to Kenyans,” Wambora said.
He announced that this year’s devolution forum will be held at Makueni Boys' High School between August 23 and 26.
The event was moved to August due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme of the conference will be: Multi-level governance for climate action during and after the pandemics.
“The target is to grow two million trees before the dates of the conference. We have so far grown 701, 469 tress,” Wambora said.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya