Nairobi, Kenya: A national and county governments’ meeting has resolved that a commission be set up to investigate a petition by Makueni voters to send the Governor and MCAs home.
But President Uhuru Kenyatta will only pick the commission after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has verified the names of the 50,826 residents, who petitioned him over the dissolution of the county.
The commission will establish whether there are enough grounds to warrant dissolution of the county government.
Uhuru, who chaired the Summit at State House Nairobi, said the petition was received by his office and handed over to the IEBC for verification.
The formation of the commission is in line with Section 123 of the Constitution.
The president was of the view that the residents of Makueni and the county government explore all avenues of reconciliation “so that we do not set a trend that destabilizes counties”.
But Governor Kivutha Kibwana said all attempts at peace and harmony have failed and the people of Makueni “should be given an opportunity to elect a county government of their choice”.
He said local religious leaders, professionals and political leaders had failed to reconcile the county government and the county assembly.
Council of Governors Chairman Isaac Ruto said the attempts by the governors to make peace had also not borne fruit.
In another matter, the summit also received and adopted a report on the selection of the chairperson and members of the Inter-governmental Relations Technical Committee.
The panel, comprising governors and an independent chair, interviewed and shortlisted three candidates for the chairperson’s position. The President will pick one. Seven names were recommended as members of the technical committee.
The Summit also discussed the state of security in the country and stressed the need for the national and county governments to work together.
Source-standardmedia.co.ke
