•Otichilo recalled that governors Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) and Granton Samboja (Taita Taveta) tried to do so while in office and did not come near to succeeding.
•The President may suspend a county government in an emergency arising out of internal conflict or war or in any other exceptional circumstances.
Image: FILE
Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo has laughed off the insistence by a lobby to have the county dissolved.
Speaking to the Star, Ottichilo recalled that governors Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) and Granton Samboja (Taita Taveta) tried to do so while in office and did not come near to succeeding.
“We are left with about 13 months to the next election. The time is too short and my opponents do not have any ground but they still think they can get the county dissolved with the hope of having an easy ride during the general elections,” he said.
The President may suspend a county government in an emergency arising out of internal conflict or war or in any other exceptional circumstances.
A person may also petition the President to suspend a county government in any other exceptional circumstances if the county government engages in actions that are deemed to be against the common needs and interests of the citizens.
A petition to suspend a county government in any other exceptional circumstances needs to be supported by signatures of not less than 10 per cent of the registered voters in the devolved unit.
A suspension under Article 192 of the Constitution shall not extend beyond a period of 90 days.
On the expiry of the period, elections for the relevant county government shall be held.
The petitioners in Vihiga, who have levelled six allegations against the county government, including corruption, incompetence and abuse of office, claim they have collected over 55, 000 signatures.
Only about 27,000 signatures, which is 10 per cent of the registered voters in the county are needed.
Ottichilo further expressed doubts that the signatures collected are of registered voters.
“Let them take the signatures to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for verification,” he said.
The petitioners, the Vihiga Professionals Group, said many development projects in the county had stalled despite funds having been remitted.
However, Ottichilo maintained that the group was being used by his opponents, some of who once worked for him.
“Vihiga people are watching and doubt they will be easily hoodwinked by these greed-driven elements,” he said.
“They have blinded themselves to all the good things happening in the county, the private partnerships we are securing and deliberately opted to spin a narrative that fits and feeds their agenda.”
In September 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta rejected recommendations by a commission to disband Makueni county government.
He said there were no justifiable grounds to suspend the troubled county government.
This was after Makueni residents and Governor Kibwana petitioned the President.
They wanted the county government dissolved to end long-standing political wrangles between the governor and the county assembly.
During the last months of 2019, Samboja also tried to get the county dissolved saying mediation efforts to bring the executive and assembly to an understanding had not yielded fruit.
The MCAs and the executive had disagreed over Sh5.6 billion budget for this 2019/20 financial year.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris