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Speaker rejects Miguna’s nomination for deputy governor job


Governor Mike Sonko has suffered a setback after the county assembly rejected the nomination of lawyer Miguna Miguna as his deputy.

Speaker Beatrice Elachi said the House could not debate Mr Miguna’s nomination as he is a dual citizen contrary to provisions of article 78 of the Constitution which provides that a person is not eligible for election or appointment for a state office unless the person is a Kenyan citizen.

“From the foregoing, I therefore wish to direct that pursuant to provisions of Standing Order number one of the Assembly, the name of the nominee for the position of deputy governor be referred to the appointing authority for further validation,” said Ms Elachi.

STATUS OF NOMINATION

She was responding to a question from minority chief whip Peter Imwatok, who sought her direction on the status of Mr Miguna’s nomination.

The Speaker further noted that the nominee failed to furnish the assembly’s Vetting and Appointments Committee with relevant documents to enable his vetting.

Ms Elachi said the lawyer failed to provide statutory documents such as certificate of good conduct from Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), clearance certificate from Higher Education Loans Board, compliance certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority and clearance from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

“It has been hard trying to find Miguna’s documents yet we need to forward them to the various institutions for verification,” she said.

REJECT NOMINEE

Jubilee MCAs had vowed to reject the nominee, saying he had to first regularise his citizenship.

Majority Leader Abdi Guyo said the nomination of Mr Miguna, who had vied for the governor seat as an Independent, contravened the Political Party’s Act, which requires that both the governor and the deputy be in the same party.

This means Governor Sonko will have to go back to the drawing board to find a deputy following the resignation of Mr Polycarp Igathe in January.