Just days after governors sought an emergency meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Council of Governors chairman Wycliff Oparanya has come out to shed some more light on the agenda of the planned meeting.
Speaking on Tuesday evening at citizen tv interview, the Kakamega Governor stated that their meeting with Uhuru is aimed at discussing the imminent power vacuum that could hit the County Government of Nairobi after the arrest of Mike Sonko.
While insisting that the governors were not in any way planning to shield the corrupt, Oparanya observed that without a deputy governor to take over from Sonko, the county was going to face power crisis which could affect service deliveries at the country’s capital city.
“CoG is not shielding any governor on corruption cases. Nairobi is however unique in that it has no Deputy Governor therefore in absence of the governor there is no leadership which is why we were seeking an audience with the President.
Wycliff Oparanya, Chair CoG: CoG is not shielding any governor on corruption cases. Nairobi is however unique in that it has no Deputy Governor therefore in absence of the governor there is no leadership which is why we were seeking an audience with the President #NewsNight pic.twitter.com/BMw2FToV95
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) December 10, 2019
The CoG Chairperson also stated that the council is monitoring and consulting widely on the unfolding situation in Nairobi County.
Oparanya added that they were against any decisions by the courts to have sitting governors step aside stating that the same could cause many problems to county residents who are likely to suffer the most.
The governor insisted that the head of counties were not accounting officers and their being in the office could not in any way affect the investigations.
“We are against the courts deciding that affected governors step aside. One person suspected to have caused a problem causes many “wananchis” to suffer. Governors are not accounting officers, how does he being in office affect investigation?” posed Oparanya.
However, according to article 182 of the constitution sub-article 4, if a vacancy occurs in the office of county governor and that of the deputy, then the Speaker of the County Assembly, in this case, Beatrice Elachi, shall take up the role of the running the county.
Elachi could, however, find herself in a difficult state after being impeached by the MCAs in 2018 and later reinstated by the court.
Her presence at the county hall has on numerous occasions faced rebellions from a section of MCAs who have disrupted county operations insisting that she leaves her office.
Governors’ plight comes five days after Mike Sonko was arrested in Voi over graft cases where he is being accused of irregular procurement and payment of over Ksh.357 million.
He was arraigned at Milimani law courts o Monday where he declined all the 13 accounts. He is expected to appear again on Wednesday where the court will rule on whether the governor is going to be released on bail or not.