Senate clears way for Sonko to pick deputy governor
The Senate has now cleared the way for county governors to appoint deputies should vacancies arise.
This follows the passing of the County Government (Amendment) Bill 2017.
The bill was sponsored by Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, who is also the Leader of the Majority in the Senate.
It provides that a governor nominates another deputy within 14 days of the occurrence of a vacancy and forwards the name to the County Assembly for approval within 60 days.
The bill will now be taken to the National Assembly for concurrence before the President signs it into law.
Senators will, however, not be involved in the process. The bill seeks to cure the situations currently faced by Nairobi and Nyeri counties that have no deputy governors.
In Nairobi, Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe resigned in January on the grounds he had “failed to earn the trust” of Governor Mike Sonko.
SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS
With a lacuna in the Constitution, senators have been scratching their heads over how best to deal with the matter, until the Supreme Court, in its advisory opinion, ruled that a governor can nominate another deputy within 14 days after a vacancy has arisen.
Though the Supreme Court made the decision on March 9, the two governors are yet to nominate their deputies 22 days later.
The drafters of the Constitution did not envisage a vacancy upon the death, impeachment or resignation of deputy governors.
Until the Supreme Court ruling, the Senate was exploring a temporary measure to cure the situation.
A suggestion by Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr to have governors designate a county executive committee member had been accepted and approved by the Senate’s legal affairs committee.
“We are looking for a temporary solution. Unless we amend the Constitution, the substantive governor should be able to nominate any of the CECs as designate deputy governor from time to time,” Mr Kilonzo said at one of the committee’s meetings.
GOVERNOR’S DEATH
It was also agreed that should a governor die before taking the oath of office, the deputy should act for 60 days before a by-election is held.
The country almost faced the circumstances now in the Nairobi and Nyeri counties back in 2005, when President Mwai Kibaki fired his entire Cabinet after a proposed new constitution was rejected in a referendum by a 57 per cent vote.
The Attorney-General at the time, Mr Amos Wako, said he advised President Kibaki against sacking then Vice-President Moody Awori.
“The President listened to me. It would have been a crisis if a vacancy had occurred in the Office of the President with no VP or any member of the Cabinet to succeed him,” Mr Wako said.