The Impeachment Foolhardy:MCAs vs Governors

It is with no doubt that when the Constitution was promulgated in August 27^th 2010 it signified a new era of hope especially with regards to devolution.

Initially,when the New Constitution was being drafted,the various stakeholders concerned had clearly set out the academic threshold for one to be a Member of County Assembly.Unfortunately,or fortunately,depending on how you view it , the purpoted academic qualifications were watered down and even done away with.

As a matter of fact, this is now proving to be futile if the wave of initiating and executing impeachments is anything to go by.A spotcheck across Embu,Kericho,Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet counties speaks volume about this.

The first fundamental question that I pose is:Are these MCAs ‘infatuated’ with power? Absolutely yes.I tend to think that giving so much power to uneducated and semi-educated leaders is indeed socio-economic development in jeopardy.To make matters worse, majority of the MCAs do not even understand the Stranding Orders.It is high time the electorate vote in MCAs who have at least a tertiary level of education which goes a long way in aiding to have prioritized debates in the various County Assemblies.

The second fundamental question that I ask is:How about Governors and their executives who misuse funds? Well, corruption has been a juggernaut in Kenya since independence.If a county govt department has been hit by corruption , the executive member in charge should be held responsible.This is because impeaching a Governor would have a severe implication on nearly every  aspect and functioning of the county govt.Imagine if the MPs could be executing impeachments against the President,one after another? Therefore, it calls for tolerance  to abandon the impeachment gimmicks and nurse the newly born county govts.

My point of view is that the MCAs should blow the whistle, gather the evidence, inform the necessary authorities and let the law courts do their work.In addition, the MCAs  should prioritise their debates and should engage constructively to benefit the citizenry and MUST abandon the ancient politics of witchhunting.

SITATI WASILWA.