6 to square it out for the Homa Bay Speaker’s seat
Six candidates have been cleared to contest for the Homa Bay County Assembly Speaker's seat in a poll slated for Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
The race had attracted 13 candidates who picked their nomination papers from the House. However, seven failed to submit their forms in time.
Battle for Homa Bay Speaker post
The six are former County Chief of Protocol John Apollo, former Central Karachuonyo MCA Julius Gaya, and Evance Marieba, the former Gwassi North MCA, who once served as the Speaker of the house.
Others are Fredrick Gaya, the Director of Youth Empowerment Bridge Organization (YEBO) Africa, seasoned politician Innocent Masara and Pascal Odhiambo.
The six will square it out to replace the outgoing Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo.
According to Assembly Clerk Faith Apuko, only the six candidates returned their forms by 9:00 am Monday, which was the deadline for the applications.
It is, however, not clear why the other seven other applicants failed to return their nomination papers.
Apollo is banking on his experience in the county leadership to clinch the seat.
He has promised to restore sanity in the House by ensuring members play their oversight role without interference from external forces.
"With knowledge of the county government operations and legislative matters, I am best fit to steer and restore the sanity in the assembly and also to ensure strict oversight on the Executive," he said.
Apollo vied for the speaker's position in the last election but lost to Ayoo by a single vote.
"I will ensure that members follow the constitution in their Assembly businesses, the Standing Orders, relevant statute and Assembly traditions, procedures and practices," he added.
Apollo, who also acted as the County Attorney for Homa Bay County from 2013 to 2017, said as a Speaker, he will ensure that disciplinary measures are applied against any misconduct in the house.
"My first duty as the Speaker once elected will be to unite all the members so that the house can run smoothly.
"We all know what took place in the last House where the MCAs were not united and this made it hard for the House to discharge its duties effectively."
On his part, Gaya said if elected, his main focus will be to ensure he unites all the members both elected and nominated to ensure residents get the best from the county government.
"I am going to unite both elected and nominated MCAs in the Assembly to enable them to discharge their duties in a manner that can transform the lives of Homa Bay residents," he said.
Gaya has served as an MCA for two terms. He has been actively involved in county politics and held different positions in the house. He hopes to use his experience to transform the House.
The Assembly has in the past witnessed cases of violence over leadership wrangles with members going physical against each other. Cases of graft have also been reported.
A number of former MCAs and former employees including the former majority and minority leaders and the clerk are currently serving their jail terms after being found guilty of corruption and embezzlement of public funds amounting to millions of shillings.
