Kenya's Most Authoritative Political Newspaper

Citizen Weekly

Sunday 7 December 2014

COUNTY HEAD SITE ROW NOW ENDS UP IN COURT

Controversy surrounding the Kisii county administration headquarters of Moticho ward in South Mugirango constituency has ended up in court after a group opposing the area MCA Evans Mokoro was defeated by one vote during elections held in a local hotel.
The elections were presided over by the executive committee member in charge of administration and stakeholder management Peris Onsarigo under the chairmanship of the county public service board chairman David Kombo.
The 24 representatives drawn from all the eight sub-clans in the constituency saw Mokoro’s team which was initially for Nyangweta forest support Maroo as the new headquarters with 13 votes against a group supporting Moticho with 11 votes.
The Moticho group led by former Gucha county council finance chairman John Matagaro claimed of being sabotaged in the initial venue from Ufanisi Hotel to Nyakoe Hotel where they had been invited to a meeting on November 21 and later moved November 26 starting from 9 am.
“The court will now make a ruling on the administration headquarters because we have all reasons of supporting Moticho because it has all the required facilities,” declared Matagaro who was accompanied by his team and warned the county government against releasing any funds form the construction of offices at Maroo.
They complained that the letters which were written and signed by the South Mugirango subcounty administrator Shadrack Otachi was copied to the executive committee member in charge of administration and the chief officer of the same ministry did not indicate that they were to hold elections during that particular day and it was an organised move to defeat them.
They claimed that The Maroo group led by Nyabuto Obure bribed one representative from Bosinange subclan Carren Obara with Sh20,000 to change her stand from supporting Moticho, a claim which was denied but it remained a speculative on where the presiding officer could have voted had the vote tied.
The angry group is accusing Charles Nyachae, the chairman of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution for being partisan in the saga. Governor James Ongwae has refused to be sucked in the matter preferring being neutral. Their preferred headquarters during a truce meeting held at the cultural centre after all except one rejected was Nyangweta Forest where the offices remain a white elephants.
During the Cultural Hall meeting at the centre, Moticho had the support of nine votes, Maroo- six votes and Nyangweta Forest one vote while one got spoiled and one abstained.

No comments:

Post a Comment