Process to replace Speaker Elachi starts
The County Assembly of Nairobi yesterday kicked off the process of replacing Speaker Beatrice Elachi following her resignation on Tuesday.
Deputy Clerk Pauline Akuku, yesterday advertised the position in local dailies asking interested candidates to apply for the position ahead of elections set for tomorrow at the Assembly.
“Notice is hereby given to the general public that the office of the Speaker of the County Assembly of Nairobi City County fell vacant following the resignation of Hon Beatrice Elachi, CBS.
Accordingly, the office the Clerk invites interested persons, who qualify to be elected for the position on the Speaker of County Assembly to download nomination forms at the Nairobi City County Assembly,” read the notice.
Interested candidates are required to deliver the nomination papers to the chambers 48 hours because the election day, the notice stated.
“The elections of the Speaker shall be held at the County Assembly plenary chamber, City Hall Building, on August 14, 2020 at 2:30pm,” it read.
By last evening, three people had shown interest in the position whose stakes are expected to be high due to the fight for control of city politics.
They included former deputy speaker Ken Ngondi and former Chief Officer in Governor Mike Sonko’s government Washington Mac Odingo.
Elachi in her resignation letter had rooted for the current Deputy Speaker and Ruai MCA John Kamangu to step in pending the election of a substantive speaker.
Besides the speaker’s seat which is vacant, former Clerk Jacob Ngwele is also fighting to get back his job back after the court asked him to step aside last week.
Deputy Clerk Adah Onyango was on the other hand recently interdicted over allegations of fraud and insubordination.
Ngwele was sacked last year following recommendations by an eleven-member ad hoc committee chaired by Nominated MCA Kabiro Mbugua on grounds that he was illegally employed.
Onyango was interdicted on July 19, 2019 by Akuku for allegedly seeking to “defraud whereby without the authority of House leadership “and alongside officers and a stranger, you presented documents to the Central Bank of Kenya with intention of changing signatories to the county assembly CBK accounts with a motive of effecting an authorized payments.”
The charges further read: “That in order to execute your scheme at the CBK, you used phased-letterheads in full knowledge that the county assembly had adopted new letterheads in order to deter fraud and the same had been communicated to all staff and the general public.”
Elachi’s resignation followed what insiders described as a well calculated move by President Uhuru Kenyatta to take full control of operations at City Hall.
The assembly, which is currently on recess after adjournment last month by Ms Elachi until September 8 after chaos at the assembly, will now have to call for a special sitting for the election of the speaker.
