City MCAs claim forum chair corrupt, threaten pullout

Nairobi members of county assembly (MCAs) have threatened to mobilise their colleagues into pulling out of the County Assemblies Forum (CAF).

They have accused the chair, who is Kajiado Speaker Johnson Osoi, of protecting corrupt speakers.

"CORRUPT SPEAKERS"

Led by majority leader Mr Abdi Guyo, the MCAs complained that the chair has turned the CAF into a platform for the protection of "corrupt speakers who have been impeached by MCAs".

Mr Guyo on Tuesday warned Mr Osoi that that it will not be business as usual if he does not change.

“Instead of articulating issues which concern county assemblies, he is protecting the speakers’ cartels. The forum should be articulating issues of all the 47 counties but the chair has turned it into a speakers' forum," he said.

"If he continues that way we will pull out of the forum and form another one."

RULE OF LAW

In a quick response, however, Mr Osoi defended his leadership saying members may be disgruntled as he has stood firm on the rule of law.

He said, “I would want clarification from his side on how the CAF has protected corrupt speakers. We have been in existence since 2013 and have had speakers impeached previously. We are not on record defending anyone. The position of the CAF is very clear; we are houses of law and order so we cannot be the ones breaking the law."

The chair further said he has never defended any speaker impeached on allegations of corruption

"There is nothing wrong with impeaching anyone but there is everything wrong with doing it unprocedurally," he added.

“They see that Nairobi may not have been procedural in removing [Beatrice] Elachi as speaker. That is why they think I am defending the former speaker, which is not the case.

"All I am saying is for everyone to be given a fair hearing, a fundamental right in the Constitution. You cannot just wake up in the morning and impeach anyone without giving him or her a chance."

FALLEN SPEAKERS

A number of other speakers have been impeached over a raft of allegations ranging from gross misconduct and abuse of office.

Ms Elachi was impeached in September on accusations of using public funds to fly first class, pay for a ‘fake’ degree and undergo surgery, against the law.

The same fate befell Homa Bay Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo and her Kakamega counterpart Morris Buluma.

Ms Elachi was accused of bias and failing to approve MCAs’ mortgage and car loans while Ms Ayoo was accused of using county funds for personal gain.