Kisumu residents unhappy with ‘handpicked’ county attorney

Residents of Kisumu have raised concerns over Governor Anyang Nyong’o's nomination of only one person to the position of the county attorney.

They termed the nomination of Mr Victor Obondi as a “conflict of interest”.

The matter came up during the vetting of Mr Obondi by the joint County Assembly committees of appointment and the justice legal of affairs.

Also raising eyebrows was the fact that Mr Obondi had included the governor as one of his referees.

“The nomination and vetting of Mr Obondi raises questions. After working for nine months on an acting capacity as a county attorney, now (Prof) Nyong’o has hand-picked him,” said a resident, Denis Kizito.

ACTING

During the vetting, it emerged that Mr Obondi has been working as an acting county attorney for more than three months, which is contrary to the law.

He started work in June 2018 until the time his name was forwarded to the committees for vetting.

But Mr Obondi defended himself saying he included the county boss as a professor and not as a governor.

He said for the time he has been offering services to the county, he had not received any payment.

But County Speaker Onyango Oloo, who is the chairman of the appointments committee, explained that the governor is mandated to submit the name of one nominee for vetting.

VERIFY NOMINEE

The assembly is then expected to verify if the nominee is qualified and advise the governor either of the acceptance or rejection of his choice for the position.

“If the public are discontented, they should express themselves through the various means stipulated in the Constitution so that the law can be amended,” said Mr Oloo.

Should his appointment be approved, Mr Obondi said his main objective will be to bring s paradigm shift on how county executive committee (CECs) members comply with the law, adding that he will perform his duties with strict adherence to the law.

“I am happy that this law empowers the attorney to summon any executive. I will ensure that the county government complies with the law [which] bind the office holder to summon the county executive,” said Mr Obondi.

DIFFERENCES

During the vetting, Kisumu County Assembly Majority Leader Kenneth Onyango raised the alarm over the differences between the executive and the county assembly over the issues raised during public participation, citing claims of failure of the attorney in his Job.

But the nominee said that his work is to advise and, in most occasions, he had done so. He said that if confirmed, he will ensure that the two arms of government meet so that they can solve any existing or looming differences.

“The two arms need to have an informal meeting to iron out issues arising from the public participation,” he said.

He promised to foster unity between the county assembly and county executive to ensure that wrangles do not affect the daily activities of the two arms.