Governor Kawira Mwangaza was left addressing a house that was nearly empty
Members of the County Assembly of Meru caused drama after walking out the chambers on Wednesday, October 19, as Governor Kawira Mwangaza was making an address.
A video of the address showed majority of the MCAs chanting as they walked out, leaving Governor Kawira to address a handful of people.
The MCAs addressed the media after the protest, accusing the governor of being hostile to them, with a few saying that her officers had humiliated them.
They said the walkout was a retaliation against the county chief, whom they said, had rejected calls by MCAs to meet and discuss how to work together.
“As an assembly consisting of 69 members, we have resolved not to listen to the governor's address. The reason is that, we have sought an audience with the governor for the last two weeks, seeking to have a sitting with her so that we can discuss the way forward on how we are going to work for the people of Meru, which has been to no avail," said one of the legislators.
The MCAs added that the governor should acknowledge that she requires the input of the county assembly, which approves budgets and appointments, in delivering her mandate and thus should not be distant.
“Our constituents have been giving us requests and messages to share with the the governor, but she has not been available to listen to us. We don’t know how she plans to work,” another MCA said.
“We want the people of Meru county and Kenyans to know that the governor refused to listen to us or pick out calls,” he added.
The standoff between the executive and the county assembly has been ingoing for about two weeks, before it manifested in a walkout on Wednesday.
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke