Kiambu MCAs clash with Speaker Stephen Ndichu over closure of assembly

Chaos erupted yesterday at Kiambu County Assembly after Speaker Stephen Ndichu (pictured) clashed with MCAs over his decision to close the assembly indefinitely.

It took the intervention of police officers and inspectorate officials to restore calm as MCAs clashed inside and outside the county hall.

Kiambu sub-county commander Mohamed Badel said they were forced to intervene and ordered both the speaker and MCAs to vacate the premises until peace is restored.

"There was a misunderstanding between the speaker and MCAs but we have discussed at length and agreed both of them should be out of the assembly for peace to prevail," Badel said.

Majority leader Gideon Gachara claimed during the altercation the speaker allegedly drew out his gun after they differed on whether the Thursday morning session should be held or not.

The MCAs claimed they arrived for the Thursday morning session only to find the assembly locked with a notice that the day's business could not proceed.

They stormed the speaker's office, demanding to know why the assembly was closed and this almost degenerated into a fistfight prompting police to intervene.

Speaker Ndichu refuted claims that he had drawn the gun. "I have bodyguards and I cannot do such a thing. My gun is safely stored at the safe," Ndichu said.

He said as the Speaker, the standing orders allowed him to close or suspend the assembly if there are chaos.

The clashes began after the speaker allegedly declined to chair the day's sitting or meet the MCAs and explain the indefinite closure of the assembly premises.

Gachara, who was accompanied by over 20 MCAs said they have been questioning the continued stay in office of John Muturi as the assembly clerk who they claim is occupying the position illegally.

He maintained that Simon Rugu is the clerk who should be lawfully in office after he was vetted and confirmed.

"We are determined to ensure the substantive clerk assumes his roles as per the law. He was unlawfully transferred to the executive and even at one point the speaker wrote to his lawyer saying he is an outsider, he has no roles," said Gachara.

He said Muturi is illegally in office and the speaker must effect the changes before the assembly resumes its sittings.

The supremacy battles between the speaker and the ward reps emerged in June last year when they threatened to impeach him.

At the center of the speaker's impeachment bid was a row on the use of the annual Sh1.2 billion the assembly receives for its recurrent expenditure from the National Treasury. Some ward reps believed then that the money has been hijacked by the speaker and his close allies.

However, the speaker was off the hook when 63 Jubilee MCAs signed a vote of confidence in the speaker, saying the proposed impeachment was wastage of time and directed the matter to be handled through party resolution structures.

fkabunyi@standardmedia.co.ke