Speaker Adul shown the door over ‘gross misconduct’
What you need to know:
- Thirty nine members of the County Assembly voted in favour of the impeachment motion. Only three voted to retain her as speaker while six abstained.
- Ms Adul was impeached after she failed to honour summons by the Special Committee to defend herself against claims of misuse of office.
Speaker Ann Adul was on Tuesday evening impeached over what county representatives described as gross misconduct.
Thirty nine members of the County Assembly voted in favour of the impeachment motion. Only three voted to retain her as speaker while six abstained.
Acting Speaker Samuel Ombogo subsequently declared the seat vacant. “I direct the office of the clerk to gazette the seat as vacant,” said Mr Ombogo.
Ms Adul was impeached after she failed to honour summons by the Special Committee to defend herself against claims of misuse of office.
Mr Ombogo said the speaker did not show up on Tuesday to answer questions of misuse of funds and hiding the mace in a police station.
The motion was tabled by West Nyakach MCA James Omollo. He accused Ms Adul of violating house standing orders by “angrily abandoning the Assembly” while in session.
“She failed to call for a formal adjournment in the afternoon of October 14 and later purported to adjourn the Assembly from outside,” Mr Omollo said.
INTIMIDATION
He also accused Ms Adul of illegally removing the mace from the assembly premises. “By doing this, she brought into disrepute the name of the Assembly and MCAs. She also made pronouncements ridiculing us.”
Majority Whip Isaiah Onyango accused the speaker of intimidating members by blocking motions questioning her conduct.
“We had a members’ insurance scheme that collapsed after the Assembly Service Board she chairs misused funds,” claimed Mr Onyango.
However, Seme MCA John Kadede accused members of witch-hunt.
“There is no point of singling out one person over claims of funds misuse yet the Assembly Service Board has the leaders of majority and minority as members,” he said.
MCAs said non-accountability by the board was the heart of the conflict. Ms Adul could not be reached for comment.