Benson Mutura, the new Nairobi County Assembly Speaker
Former Makadara MP Benson Mutura has been elected the Nairobi County Assembly speaker this Friday afternoon following the resignation of Beatrice Elachi as the speaker on Tuesday.
Mr Mutura garnered 99 out of 123 votes from house members.
The election of a new Speaker was done via zoom.
“I hereby declare Mr Benson Mutura the new Nairobi County Assembly Speaker having attained more than the required two-thirds majority votes,” acting Speaker John Kamangu said.
Several candidates had expressed their interest in the position, they include, Former Nairobi Assembly County Speaker Allan Chacha Mang’era, Alex Magelo, Abdi Ali Abdi, Odingo Odhiambo Washington, Mike Obonyo Guoro, and Kennedy Okeyo Ng’ondi.
Magelo, however, had dropped out of the race yesterday throwing his weight behind Mutura.
Beatrice Elachi, former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker
Former Nairobi Assembly speaker
Elachi’s three-year tenure at the assembly was been characterised with controversies. She endured a strained relationship with members of the county assembly following a protracted fall out with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
She was impeached by the assembly in 2018 barely one year after she assumed office.
Before her resignation, Elachi was embroiled in a tug of war with MCAs who were plotting to impeach her yet again.
Her opponents were accusing her of abuse of office, illegal appointment of a new assembly clerk, corruption, poor leadership, victimization of MCAs and assembly staff, impunity, disregard of the law and county orders, and militarisation of the assembly.
On Wednesday this week, Elachi revealed how her opponents had planned her death.
“I thank God I’m alive today… there was sulphuric acid… had I not been saved that day I wouldn’t be speaking to you today. It would have been tossed at me but God that day said it was not my time,” she said.
The former speaker recalled a chilling incident where protestors brandished guns.
“Before you leave, a few people come, they are at the gate of KICC and are carrying a coffin with ‘Rest in Peace NMS’ written on it. They remove their guns and they salute and you wonder are we watching a movie,” she recounted.
Elachi says she was not forced out but rather resigned because MCAs had been paid a lot of money to append signatures for her ouster through an impeachment.
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