Council of Governors mulls suspension of Makueni leadership

The Council of Governors (CoG) is considering suggesting to the President to suspend the Makueni County Government as provided for in the Constitution if an attempt at arbitration fails.

"The council will hold a special meeting on Monday to deliberate on the issue, though this is a matter we are considering and we have not fully decided on it. If the arbitration meeting with the county leadership fails, then we may consider suggesting to the President to invoke Article 192," said CoG Chairman Isaac Ruto.

Article 192(1) of the Constitution allows the President to suspend a county government in an emergency arising out of internal conflict, war or in any other exceptional circumstances.

The suspension is after an independent commission of inquiry is satisfied with the allegations and the Senate upholds the suspension. The suspension should not extend beyond 90 days and upon expiry of the period, the county involved shall hold elections.

IMPEACHMENT

Ruto made the announcement at a press conference yesterday where he revealed their considerations on Makueni County were informed by the fact that the assembly had lined up four county executive members for impeachment.

These are the executives for Finance, Agriculture and Livestock, Water and Irrigation, and Lands and Urban planning.

"If the county assembly fires half the cabinet, then how will the county government function without implementers?" posed Ruto.

The second reason the Bomet governor gave was the fact that the Makueni County Assembly had already spent Sh174 million of the budgeted Sh376 million in this fiscal year.

"We would like to re-emphasise that the ultimate consequence of invoking Article 192 is the ballot. All leaders both in the assembly and the executive would have to go to the ballot," Ruto pointed out.

He added that the CoG had received complaints from the executive arm of Makueni regarding the hostile environment in the county.

Ruto, however, encouraged the Makueni executive and assembly to salvage the situation and put the needs of the electorate first.

"The council is aware there are other county governments experiencing similar turmoil and would like to alert them and bring to their attention the provisions of Article 192 of the Constitution," he said.

In his statement, the CoG chairman highlighted the budget delay in Makueni.

DELAYED BUDGET

"The Makueni County budget was delayed by a whole five months because the leadership could not agree on allocation. The supplementary budget was further delayed by another two months, which was unnecessary. Both executive and assembly should work together to prudently and justifiably allocate the resources. These funds are for the people of Makueni," he noted.

Ruto said the council was concerned that no arrests had been made after the Makueni shooting, despite several statements being recorded.

"A letter to the Inspector General of Police on the matter has not received a response and the culprits are still roaming freely,"he said.