Ranguma, Odinga feud escalates

Kisumu, Kenya: The differences between Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma and his deputy Ruth Odinga played out yesterday during the official opening of the county assembly.

Last week, Ms Odinga attended the opening of the assembly that never took off due to lack of a quorum, an event that was skipped by the governor and 37 area ward representatives.

But yesterday, she snubbed the event which was officially opened by Ranguma and attended by members of the county assembly (MCAs), residents and the clergy.

Security remained tight during the event, with the administration police deployed to assist the county askaris following earlier reports that a group of people had planned to disrupt the function.

In the assembly, there was no end to the differences that has now spilled to the executive as the deputy speaker Pamela Jossy, who was to chair the session in the absence of the speaker, was blocked from accessing the speaker's gallery.

Speaker Anne Adul was last week barred, albeit temporarily, from running her office by the industrial court following a petition challenging her reinstatement by the county assembly.

Time limits

This follows two applications filed by both Ms Adul and the county assembly which were later consolidated so as to be heard together due to time limits.

Yesterday's session was instead chaired by Acting Speaker Gabriel Ochieng who urged the legislative and the executive arms of the county government to put aside their differences and work together for growth.

At the beginning of the event, tension reigned in the assembly as the deputy speaker tried to forcefully enter the speaker's gallery but she was stopped by the sergeant at arms.

North Seme Ward Representative James Dianga said whatever transpired in the house was an illegality and against the court order.

"The person who should preside over the session should be from the speaker's panel and not any other as ruled by the court," said Mr Dianga, warning that the opening of the assembly for the second time was itself against the law.

Key reforms

Governor Ranguma took the opportunity to issue the county's development status report, coming in the wake of a report released by the World Bank indicating the county government only spent one per cent of its funding on development.

Although Odinga had supported the report, Ranguma said his administration has made key reforms in many sectors of the county's economy.