Samuel Tunai scoffs at MPs’ bid to kick him out of office

Narok Governor Samuel Tunai has down-played impeachment threats by the county’s five MPs.

The MPs launched a signature collection programme on Monday last week in a bid to dissolve the county government.

The abrasive governor said the county legislators had lost direction, and asserted he will stay put and threatened to introduce a parallel signature collection against them.

Mr Tunai dismissed the leaders toying with the idea of impeaching him saying it was futile and would be rejected by the majority of residents.

“These people filed a case against me in the high court disputing my election, and it was ruled on my favour. They went to Senate finance committee and the Auditor-General, and I triumphed. Now they are launching signatures collection and I am telling them they are doomed to fail,” said Mr Tunai.

He added that he would put up a parallel line-up of senator and MPs in his critics’ tough to compete with them in 2017 so as to get a new breed of leaders who can work with the county government in developing the region.

LOST TRACK

Speaking on Friday when he launched 15 milk coolers in Narok Town, he said his opponents had lost track on their mandate of serving their constituents and were busy fighting his government and the Jubilee administration in general.

He defended himself saying the Senate committee adopted a special report by the Auditor-General on the collection of revenue in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and cleared his government of any wrong-doing in the procurement of revenue collection provider, Kenya Airport Services (KAPS) as agent for the eastern wing of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

“We were elected under Jubilee government and currently we do not even know whether they are still serving the Jubilee manifesto or in Opposition. Come 2017, we will urge the people to give us leaders who have the public interest at heart,” said Mr Tunai.

Leaders allied to the governor — Deputy Governor Everlyne Aruasa and Narok East MP Lemanken Aramat — who accompanied him during the launch echoed the governor’s sentiments, saying that time for politics was over and that the legislators should allow the governor to deliver.

Mr Aramat (Narok East) said the alleged mismanagement of resources was being driven by leaders who felt “short-changed” after Mr Tunai won the gubernatorial seat in 2013. He said theirs were the last kicks of a dying horse.

“The issues in Narok are basically not about money because the governor has been cleared by the Senate and Auditor-General, and the anti-corruption commission is carrying it investigations. There is a contest between clans in Narok for political power,” said Mr Aramat.

He accused the majority Purko clan leaders who are spearheading the signature drive of “victimising” the governor who comes from the minority Siria clan. He said there had been efforts to solve the issues, but the efforts had so far come to naught.