Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu at Kiambu Law Courts yesterday during the hearing of his anticipatory bail case hearing.He wants the court to extend orders for the bail. [Kamau Maichuhie/Standard]
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu yesterday suffered a blow after a new team perceived to be opposed to him took over leadership of the county assembly.
The assembly now has a new Leader of Majority, Chief Whip and their deputies, who were elected yesterday in an election supervised by Jubilee Party officials.
Members of County Assembly (MCAs) elected Ndeiya Gideon Gachara as new Leader of Majority, replacing Anthony Ikonya, who was ousted by members on July 1.
The party’s new Chief Whip is Theta MCA Simon Karema, who replaces Mburu Kidiim (Mwiki) who resigned last week.
READ MORE
Kirinyaga Assembly adjourns after MCA clashes
DPP wants Waititu, wife jailed over Sh588m fraud
Date with destiny: Mutai stands before Senators in removal trial
The elections were presided over by Jubilee official Franklin Mwendani.
Mr Gachara and Mr Karema said they would work to restore the independence of the county assembly and redeem its image in the eyes of the public. “We will bring back the independence of the assembly as it is supposed to be. The former leadership was seen to be a mouthpiece of the Executive and its oversight role was put to question by Kiambu voters,” said Gachara.
He added that his team would ruthlessly deal with corrupt county officials and warned them that their days were numbered.
The MCA regretted that Kiambu, which is President Uhuru Kenyatta's home county, had been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Work extra-hard
“We will work extra-hard and ensure that we regain the confidence of Wanjiku (voters) and the public in general,” said the new Majority Leader.
Gachara clarified that although majority of the assembly members were not happy with the previous leadership, the new team was not at war with the governor.
“We shall move to offer credible leadership that will be all-inclusive and independent. The new team will ensure the Executive is accountable to the people,” said the new Whip.
Also elected were Deputy Majority Leader Anne Kariuki, who narrowly beat her sole opponent Jane Gathiga 43 votes to 42.
Margaret Wanjiru Mwago becomes the new Deputy Whip after garnering 44 votes against Margaret Gatonye.
The presiding officer said the party would cooperate with the new team and urged the assembly to play its oversight role firmly.
