This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
June 29, 2020 - Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi has ignited a fresh controversy by declaring the position of Clerk Jacob Ngwele vacant.
The move, which has been met with resistance from Ngwele, comes after the Nairobi County Assembly Service Board, chaired by Elachi, advertised for a vacancy in the office of the clerk.
According to the advert, the board is acting in compliance with a June 4, 2020 order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which stated that there was no valid holder of the office of the clerk at the assembly.
"The Nairobi County Assembly has never recruited a substantive Clerk to the Nairobi County Assembly since inception in 2013," the notice reads in part.
Ngwele and Elachi have been embroiled in a protracted war since early 2018, with the feud resurfacing again after Elachi's return to office in October last year.
Ngwele was sent on a one-month compulsory leave in October 2019, and an ad hoc committee later revoked his appointment as the assembly's clerk on grounds of gross violation of Section 18(2) of the County Assembly Services Act.
