Deputy governor James Nyoro takes charge in Kiambu

Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The MCAs maintained that they would table a motion in the next two weeks to impeach the suspended Governor Ferdinand Waititu.

After being vilified in public by his boss on many occasions, Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro yesterday took over the operations of the county and maintained he is the new boss as long as Governor Ferdinand Waititu is away.

Dr Nyoro, in his first press conference Tuesday at the county headquarters, said his first priority would be to reduce loss of revenue and hinted at changes to improve service delivery and stem wastage.

NO POWER VACUUM

“We are in office as long as the governor is away,” he said flanked by MCAs.

He said he was in the office legally as stipulated in the Constitution and that there was no power vacuum in Kiambu.

“Today I have chaired my first Cabinet meeting and this is expected to continue in the next few days. The idea is to ensure service delivery and implement projects that we find important to Kiambu residents. I want to assure Kiambu residents that there is no power vacuum and no services will be interrupted,” said Dr Nyoro.

He added that he would embark on clearing the backlog of unpaid deductions and delayed salaries for employees.

Even as this was happening, the MCAs maintained that they would table a motion in the next two weeks to impeach the suspended Governor Ferdinand Waititu.

The motion is being fronted by Mr Elijah Njoroge, the Biashara Ward MCA.

“I am working on the motion to impeach Governor Ferdinand Waititu because it is our work to initiate an impeachment as Members of the County Assembly. The motion is 70 per cent complete and will be presented to the county Assembly in the next two weeks,” said Mr Njoroge.

Dr Nyoro is an agricultural economist from the University of Nairobi and University of London, Wye College. He was country and policy adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle Washington and also served as the managing director of Rockefeller Foundation for Africa Region in Nairobi.

WAITITU CHARGED

He first made a stab at politics in 2013 when he vied for the Kiambu gubernatorial seat and lost to Mr William Kabogo.

He regrouped and teamed up with Mr Waititu in 2017 where they beat Mr Kabogo by a huge margin.

Meanwhile, Mr Waititu was Tuesday charged in Milimani Law Courts, alongside his wife and senior county government officials, with irregularly awarding tenders amounting to Sh588 million.

Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi granted Mr Waititu a Sh15 million cash bail.

Businessman Charles Chege, a close ally of Mr Waititu and the owner of the company that was awarded the disputed tender, was released on similar bail terms.

Their spouses were granted Sh4 million cash bail while the rest were granted Sh1 million cash bail.

However, Mr Waititu and his wife Susan Wangari spent a third night in custody after failing to meet their bail requirements. Mr Waititu was taken to Industrial Area Remand Prison while his wife was taken to Langata Women’s Prison.

The other accused also did not raise the bail. The case will be mentioned on August 26.

Additional reporting by Maureen Kakah