This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Published on July 15, 2020, a tense standoff between Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and the county assembly members has reached a boiling point. The MCAs are now determined to eject Waiguru from the helm of the devolved unit, employing a new tactic that could see every elected leader in the county government lose their position and have the county dissolved.
The MCAs are seeking to petition President Uhuru Kenyatta to suspend the county government through the collection of signatures, a move that could lead to the dissolution of the county. Speaking at the county assembly, majority leader Kamau Murango stated that losing their positions is a small price they are willing to pay for the sake of Kirinyaga residents.
“Since we failed to get justice from the Senate, we have now opted to all be thrown out and seek a fresh mandate from the electorates,” Murango said. The MCAs are targeting to collect over 100,000 signatures, exceeding the required 30,000 votes, to ensure that their people get justice.
The stalemate is also drawing other quarters, with a glaring crack in the professional relationship between Governor Waiguru and her deputy Peter Ndambiri. The bad relationship is ostensibly on suspicion that Ndambiri could have been the man behind Waiguru’s woes since he would have ascended to power had the governor been toppled.
Article 192 of the Constitution of Kenya bequeaths the president the role of dissolving a county either when there is an emergency arising out of conflict or when in any other exceptional circumstance. If the MCAs will collect the requisite number of signatures, the President may appoint an independent commission to investigate the allegations. The President will then have to be satisfied with the justification of the allegations and the Senate will have to authorize the suspension.
