West Pokot deputy governor faces impeachment

Kanu leaders and supporters in the county have faulted Salat for controlling county party politics.

They accused Salat of having meddled in the county assembly affairs on changing the county assembly leadership and asked him to keep off from the region and respect elected leaders.

They said that Salat and a director at Kanu headquarters a Towett, have been bribed and being used by an absentee deputy governor Nicholas Atudonyang to replace two Kanu nominated members of county assembly Grace Reng’ei and Josephine Cheprum who are seen to be loyal to Governor Lonyangapuo.

They want to replace them with their sycophants and defend Atudonyang from being axed from the position of deputy governor.

Atudonyang

Atudonyang faces impeachment for absconding his duties since he was sworn in.
However, political pundits in the county say the move is an uphill task as Governor Lonyangapuo controls 75pc in the county assembly. To do anything, they need a total of 23 members to support.

The county assembly consists of four PDR, 14 Jubilee, 14 Kanu, and one independent member.
It is rumoured that among 33 MCAs in the county assembly, only two are supporting the speaker.
Word has it that the duo are being manipulated and using the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and Directorate of Criminal Investigation to frustrate area Governor Lonyangapuo.
They are said to be plotting with the deputy governor, Senator Samuel Poghisio and county assembly speaker to impeach the governor.
The group calling itself as ‘third force’ is working on a formula to curtail bills not to be passed in the assembly through the assembly chief whip Maddy Polokou and leader of majority Thomas Ngolesya.
The leaders asked the secretary general to keep off from county politics to allow residents and county Kanu leaders change the assembly leadership whose moves has lately been questioned.
This comes after a section of the county assembly leadership escaped ouster narrowly after the Kanu party interfered when members of county assembly presented a motion to remove them from leadership.
Members of the county assembly were expected to replace the current majority leader Thomas Ng’olesya and the county assembly chief whip Maddy Polokou who are seen by other members as rebels.

Nick Salat

Speaking to Kenyan Digest, Kanu youth leader in the county Dennis Kapchok cited that Salat has been sending some leaders to come to the county to insult and silent elected leaders in the county.

“Who is Nick Salat in West Pokot county leadership? It is now clear to everyone that our assembly is no longer independent. Salat should stop these shenanigans if at all they want our support. Those cheating him were only but carried by us,” said Kapchok.

The letter by Salat is unconstitutional and direct interference of the independence of county assembly.
County assembly leadership is decided by the MCAs from their respective parties?

He noted that it is the MCAs that can only hired or fire majority leader, minority, chief whips and the speaker.
“That letter is bad in law and must be rejected and treated with contempt it deserves.
Kapchok said that there is need to do total overhaul of West Pokot county assembly.

“The assembly had become an impediment to West Pokot progress. We are the ones who pushed for more Kanu seats and votes in the county. West Pokot is a Kanu zone. The role of any legislative organ is to foster progress by putting in place robust legislation, oversight and represent the interests of the people. West Pokot assembly was doing exactly opposite and that is why it needs new leadership,” said Kapchok.
Ng’olesya who is Seker ward MCA has been holding his position as the majority leader after the 2017 general election and his counterpart from Kapenguria ward Maddy Polokou has been the chief whip.
Evanson Lomaduny the MCA for Endough ward had been nominated to replace Polokou and Weiwei ward MCA Kapelesiwa was supposed to replace Ng’olesya as majority leader.
A letter from Salat addressed to the chief whip halted the process.
In its defence the Kanu party stated that the national party dismissed the changes that were supposed to be made by the West Pokot county assembly because there was no consultation done.
“Our attention has been drawn to a scheme by a certain top party officials in West Pokot county to initiate a coup in some positions of leadership in the assembly held by our party members without any reference or communication to the party,” the letter stated.
The letter further stated that the Kanu party is not in the business of macromanaging affairs of the West Pokot county assembly and any actions contemplated by party by party leadership in the county touching on any leader must be taken upon any consultation and in strict adherence to the party constitution on such matters.
Salat added that all party position that all elected and nominated Kanu leaders in West Pokot county must toe the party line and avoid participating in motions of impeachment or arbitrary leadership change in the assembly.
“The party constitution is very clear on dispute resolution in article 21 and disciplinary procedure where there is breach to the constitution in article 28. These article together with the code of conduct and the loyalty pledge that each elected and nominated leader signed during the nomination exercise must be adhered to at all times and without failure,” he stated.
Lomaduny said the changes were arrived at after political supremacy battles embattled the county assembly pitting Kanu leaders in West Pokot county that led to the rejection of county public service board secretary nominee late last year.
He added that the current leaders have been behind derailing development in the county by convincing other members of county assembly to reject the county public service board CEO.
“The removed MCA s are known to be allies of West Pokot county assembly speaker Catherine Mukenyang and are accused of voting against their own government motion,” he said.
Nominated member of county assembly on Kanu Elijah Kasheusheu said that the duo must face the music.
“There is need for overhaul of the whole county assembly leadership,” he said.
Efforts to reach the speaker and the current majority leader were futile as they did not pick calls.
The media were barred from attending the afternoon session as the MCAs locked themselves in the assembly chambers without allowing any one in.
Furthermore, the West Pokot county assembly speaker Catherine Mukenya is accused of bad leadership, abuse of office, corruption and violation of the constitution.

A source told Kenyan Digest that MCAs are also plotting to impeach the speaker. He said they will not relent to remove the two members and impeach the speaker accusing her for turning the assembly into a political office and running it as a private entity. He accused the county assembly leadership over violating the constitution by irregular employment of workers calling on her to resign or face impeachment.
Deputy speaker Francis Krop who enjoys support in the house accused the speaker of violating the constitution by failing to assume his functions as expected. The deputy speaker who is the Kasei ward representative further accused speaker ofdiscrimination, victimising and demotion of some members of the staff in a way that hurts service delivery in the assembly. The speaker is also alleged to have employed his relatives in the crucial departments of the county by using the board to employ them.
He added that as the deputy speaker members are supposed to be given an opportunity to express their grievances before the house and it was improper for the speaker to adjourn the sessions without giving tangible reason when a member queried for order paper. Krop says that how the speaker runs the assembly is not satisfactory and that the house business committee is not consulted as it should be due to the dictatorial operations of the speaker.
He accused the speaker of employing 15 workers without following the law and converting the county assembly as her private home. Krop said that they have the power as the assembly members and the only option remaining is to impeach the speaker to bring sanity to the assembly adding that they have numbers and it is wrong for her to shoot down the motion.
He accused the speaker of running the assembly as his personal entity and they fear that she will shoot down the motion and put house on recess since the speaker, minority and majority leaders are being targeted which they claimed the speaker has proved to be biased as she does not welcome the motion to disband the assembly’s board.
She is accused of using cartels and relatives to siphon, embezzle and loot county assembly funds and awarding them contracts.
She is alleged to have gone for more foreign trips and paid herself per diem twice.
“This year she has gone for more than 10 foreign trips,” he said.

The speaker is said to have been getting 10pc kickbacks of medical insurance cover from MCAs and the staff.
“According CRA the speaker is supposed to have six employees but she has employed 17,” said the source.
The insider says that Mukenyang has been giving per diems to the area senator Samuel Poghisyo and fueling his vehicle, paying air tickets for him and paying his personal assistant and bodyguard by county assembly funds.
The speaker is said to be funded by Kanu chairman Gideon Moi, Atudonyang, chief administrative secretary for Energy Simon Kachapin who is the former governor, Poghisyo and Tiaty MP William Kasait Kamket who are after frustrating area Governor John Lonyangapuo’s administration .
However, Catherine Mukenyang the speaker to West Pokot county assembly dismissed the MCAs allegations terming them as baseless and that the house was in order.