Warring TNA members threaten assembly business

The Nyeri County Assembly during a past session. The Industrial Court Thursday ordered striking Nyeri County Government workers to resume work by 8am Friday, pending the hearing and determination of a case on the dispute. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • Already, a split within MCAs from the President’s party is rife and there are fears that this might stall the County Assembly operations.
  • Embattled Assembly Majority Leader Mwangi Kibuu (MCA Gatitu/Muruguru ward) said there are about four motions sponsored by the TNA members which have not seen the light of day.

Members of the Nyeri County Assembly are threatening to stall the assembly’s functions as leaders’ personal interests take centre stage.

Already, a split within MCAs from the President’s party is rife and there are fears that this might stall the County Assembly operations.

On Saturday, the Sunday Nation established that the rivalry among MCAs is so widespread that some motions are being shot down on the floor of the Assembly if the mover of the motion is perceived to be from the rival side.

On several occasions party members have walked out of the Assembly prompting the Speaker to adjourn the sittings for lack of quorum.

Embattled Assembly Majority Leader Mwangi Kibuu (MCA Gatitu/Muruguru ward) said there are about four motions sponsored by the TNA members which have not seen the light of day.

“We had about four motions tabled on behalf of the TNA party. But since the person tabling the motion was perceived to be from the rival side, some MCAs belonging to TNA and GNU parties walked out and the Assembly was adjourned for lack of a quorum,” said Mr Kibuu.

But Wamagana ward MCA Jesse Kamuri said some of the motions were from individual members and if a member had a bad relationship with fellow colleagues there is no way such a motion would see the light of the day.

Both Mr Kibuu and Mr Kamuri are entangled in a court case over the Assembly Majority Leader’s position. There is a pending court case in the Nyeri High Court after Mr Kibuu claimed that he was unlawfully removal as the Majority Leader and replaced by Mr Kamuri on July 30.

Mr Kibuu said he supports the TNA party’s stand that it will discipline errant party members.

The squabbles within the House have resulted in TNA bosses in the county warning the affected party members to either toe the line or face disciplinary action.

Earlier, the TNA party leadership had warned that disciplinary action would be instituted against any member in a proven case of corruption, misappropriation of party funds, and misuse of party facilities, lack of loyalty to the party, or allegiance to another political party and disrespect for organs of the party.

Last week, the party’s branch chairman Thuo Mathenge said he was consulting with the party headquarters, and members who are frustrating operations in the County Assembly would face disciplinary action.

This is after the party’s branch Secretary-General and also nominated MCA Regina Macharia said they were a divided lot. 

Later, claims emerged that some MCAs had threatened their colleagues.

And on Tuesday afternoon, three MCAs were summoned to Nyeri Central police station to record statements after Ms Macharia reported that she had been threatened by her colleagues over claims she had made through a press statement last week.

The three, who included Wamagana ward MCA Kamuri, Githaiga Njoroge representing Rugi ward, and nominated MCA Lucy Wanyitu, had been accused of making threatening verbal statements over the life of their colleague Ms Macharia.

But the Kamuri-led team dismissed Ms Macharia’s claims saying that going to the police to record statements was a desperate measure after she lost political battles against majority members in the assembly.