This archive report was first published on 3 July 2020.
On July 3, 2020, the Meru County Assembly was on a collision course with the Party of National Unity (PNU) over the de-whipping of three MCAs.
PNU Secretary General John Okemwa had removed Kimathi Ithibua and Romano Mwito as chairmen of the Public Accounts Committee and Water Committee, respectively, in a letter to Speaker Joseph Kaberia.
The party also removed Mikinduri MCA Gabriel Chokera from various assembly committees, citing disciplinary action for promoting other parties and failing to attend party functions.
However, in a motion sponsored by Igoji West rep Mutembei Mbiuki and supported unanimously in the assembly, the House decided to reinstate the trio.
Majority Leader Victor Kariithi said the assembly did not want any MCA to fall victim to dictatorship, stating, “We do not want any MCA to be fought for working with the Meru Executive or for having divergent opinion. We have agreed that the letter drawn by PNU was unfair,”
But PNU Chief Whip Kimathi Ithibua countered that the assembly had gone against the Political Parties Act, which empowers a party to remove a member from a committee.
