Kakamega Kenya Kwanza MCAs vow to block ODM bid to oust Speaker

ODM wrote a letter to the Speaker asking him to effect the changes as allegedly instructed by the party chief Raila Odinga.

The Standard has established that Mr Namatsi was reluctant to effect the changes after Maina moved to court seeking to stop the changes by the Orange party.

Mayoni ward representative Fredrick Watitwa (UDA) claimed that during a meeting in Butere, Raila reportedly urged MCAs to impeach Namatsi.

Watitwa said that despite belonging to UDA, he will support the embattled Speaker.

“I believe in the Speaker’s integrity and the impeachment efforts are unjustly motivated because standing order number 58 has all that is required to impeach the Speaker including that you must have 78 per cent of members support the motion. The Speaker will not be impeached under our watch because there is no valid reason tabled before us,” he said.

He claimed that the plot to impeach the Speaker was part of a wider political strategy to destabilise Governor Fernandes Barasa's administration.

“Namatsi is being unfairly targeted to achieve ulterior political motives. You have instructed all the leaders who were elected under your party to sign the impeachment motion and we are aware of that and we won’t allow it to happen,” he said.

Watitwa asked the ODM leadership to settle their wrangles and give the governor space to work for the people.

“We respect you Raila the same way the nation respects you but I call upon you to at least give our Speaker and the county leadership time to deliver for the people of Kakamega who need development,” he said.

ODM MCA who sought anonymity confided that they have valid grounds to oust the Speaker including disregarding party communications and gross misconduct.

“I don’t want to preempt what we have but the Speaker has, on several occasions refused to implement the party communication and affairs. He was directed to announce the name of Mr Ondiro as the new Majority Leader but he has since refused,” said the MCA.

“The Central Management Committee met and decided that we have a change in leadership at assembly but the Speaker has since downplayed the communication stating that he cannot go against the court and instead he attached the court decision that blocked the ODM from doing the changes on the party communication and yet the party had requested the ousted Majority Leader to withdraw the case and solve the matter with the party.”

The MCA said that they are aware that ANC and UDA ward reps are working to ensure the impeachment motion flops and revealed that ODM has already collected 45 signatures.