- Barasa said that the county will not be dictated by the party through the committee on how the assembly should run.
- “We have executive authority of the people who elected us and there is no county that is directed by the party on how it should plan its programmes,” he added.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has asked the ODM central management committee to stop interfering with the management of the county assembly.
Barasa said the committee will not dictate to the county how it should run its affairs.
The central management committee is the topmost decision-making organ and is chaired by the party leader.
“The county assembly of Kakamega and I as the branch chairman respect the party but please, don’t micro-manage the county government,” he said.
“We have executive authority of the people who elected us and there is no county that is directed by the party on how it should run its programmes.”
Barasa said the county government of Kakamega will respect the party leadership but it should keep off affairs of the assembly.
He spoke on Saturday during the burial of Charles Madegwa in Isukha.
The governor said the assembly has a leadership that is working in accordance with the law.
ODM leadership summoned Barasa, speaker of the county assembly James Namatsi and former majority leader Philip Maina over leadership wrangles.
Secretary general Edwin Sifuna said the three have been frustrating the party's decision to replace Maina with Geoffrey Ondiro.
The summons followed a petition filed by ODM MCAs to the committee regarding re-organisation of assembly committees by Maina on Tuesday.
The MCAs said the right procedure had not been followed in reshuffling of committees.
They said they were conducted with a bias to those perceived to be unfriendly to the governor.
“The party via official communication designated Geoffrey Ondiro as the majority leader. This directive has however been repeatedly frustrated by individuals led by the governor, the speaker and the former leader of majority Maina,” Sifuna said.
“The committee has therefore resolved to summon the three to appear before it at a date to be communicated.”
He said the state of affairs at the county assembly had become unacceptable.
The party asked the speaker to implement its directives, declaring all purported changes to committees null and void.
But Barasa said he only recognises Maina as the majority leader because he was elected by MCAs.
“I want to ask the ODM leadership, please don’t be slacked in the politics of Kakamega. All the decision in the county assembly of Kakamega are made in accordance with standing orders,” he said.
The governor said assembly speaker does not belong to ODM and wondered why the party was summoning him.
A party insider said although Maina’s replacement my have been miss-handled, his subsequent actions could lead to his de-whipping.
“The party may consider expelling Maina and mobilising its members who are the majority in house to impeach the speaker in the interest of stability in Kakamega county assembly,” the source said.