Plan to send Baringo speaker home fails
Baringo County Assembly Speaker William Kamket (centre) with Senators Kipchumba Murkomen (left) and Hassan Omar (right) November 5, 2013. Plans to impeach the speaker over incitement claims flopped Wednesday after some members boycotted a sitting. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The speaker is accused of having said in public: “We don’t steal, we are restocking what belongs to us.”
- Wednesday, the leaders were set for a meeting to address the issue but it was postponed at the last minute as the assembly was divided.
Plans to impeach Baringo County Assembly Speaker William Kamket over incitement claims flopped Wednesday after some members boycotted a sitting.
Some of the county representatives, led by Minority leader Wesley Lekakimon (Ilchamus ward), the sponsor of the impeachment motion, are accusing Mr Kamket of making comments which they say have fuelled conflict between the Pokot and other communities in the region.
The speaker is accused of having said in public: “We don’t steal, we are restocking what belongs to us.”
It is alleged he was referring to complaints that members of the Pokot community were raiding other ethnic groups.
Wednesday, the leaders were set for a meeting to address the issue but it was postponed at the last minute as the assembly was divided.
“We could not carry on with the normal proceedings because some members who wanted to impeach the speaker lacked the numbers, so they walked out of the assembly.
“They claimed that the speaker had enticed some members not to carry on with the motion,” said Ribkwo/Kositei ward rep Daniel Tuwit.
Mr Kamket has dismissed the incitement claims, saying his utterances were taken out of context.
“My stand on cattle rustling has always been clear. I have for long fought this heinous crime. I’m sorry that such an innocent statement was taken out of context,” Mr Kamket told the Nation on the phone.
