Two warring Nyamira County factions will appear before the Senate in Nairobi Tuesday April 8 in the last ditch efforts aimed at ending the squabbles that have so far derailed services at the regional government.
Letters inviting them to appear before the Standing Committee on Devolution and Inter governmental relations were sent April 3, 2025.
Among those invited is Assembly Speaker Enock Okero and Ekerenyo Ward Representative Thaddeus Nyabaro.
Also invited is Controller of Budget Margret Nyakango.
The wars in Nyamira started off with a flopped impeachment of Speaker Okero.
Later, it snowballed into weeks of violent skirmishes outside the assembly square culminating in injuries.
And as the skirmishes intensified, Nyabaro was elected into office as anti Okero faction speaker.
He had, however not resigned as MCA by the time of his ‘election’.
His ‘installation’ as speaker ignited revengeful battles occasioning the setting a blaze of his house .
Later, a night guard was injured during a botched attempt by goons to set the assembly building ablaze.
It all begun with the skirmishes and the ejection of speaker from the assembly.
Some faction of MCAs allied to Nyabaro also forced Okero to remove his official gown as he fled.
Okero’s impeachment was later quashed by a Nyamira court granting him FCC an order of stay.
With the faction fights, Okero, together with pockets of Ward Reps supportive of him have been holding Bunge Mashinani at Manga and at Keroka with the other faction members largely absconding.
The standoff has since caused delays in the disbursement of cash for development from the Exchequer.
Besides, the MCA’s now lament a two month delay in salaries.
The assembly staff on the other hand are yet to be paid in as many as six months.
On Thursday, the Senate Committee described the situation in Nyamira as unsettling warranting it’s attention.
“The Committee has noted with concern the reported long standing dispute that has allegedly split the assembly into two factions. The Committee is further concerned that the dispute has affected the smooth functioning of the county assembly and effective service delivery in the county.”
“Consequently, the Committee has resolved to intervene in the matter to ensure that the dispute is resolved amicably for the county assembly to carry out it’s functions smoothly,” said the letter addressed to Okero, Nyabaro and Nyakango.
The Controller of Budget was summoned as the Committee seeks clarification if it she has been “issuing payment to the County Assembly despite the duplication of various offices of the County Assembly, how the County budget was passed in the light of the two factions in operation and which of the two factions was the COB was in consultation with and if there had been steps made to resolve the matter.”
Speaker Okero and Nyabaro would be required to shed light on how the dispute has effected the operations of the Assembly and if there had been any steps or attempts made to resolve the impasse.
All those summoned would be submitting relevant documentary submissions by April 7, a day to appearing before the committee.
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