Azimio disowns Garissa Assembly Leadership changes

Garissa,

September 8, 2023

KNA by Jacob Songok

The Azimio Coalition has distanced itself from the changes of its leadership at the Garissa County Assembly that was carried out yesterday.

In the new changes addressed to the assembly speaker Abdi Idle, Galbet ward MCA Abubakar Khalif was replaced by his Dadaab counterpart Mohamed Abdi Farah as majority leader.

Others changes saw Sankuri ward MCA Abdirahman Borr replaced by Abdirahman Muktar of Ijara ward as the deputy Majority leader.

Liboi MCA Ahmed Abdirahman Sheikh is the new majority whip replacing Abdi Ibrahim (Balambala) while Timira Bashir (nominated) was to be the Deputy Majority whip.

Mahat Abdikadir (Modogashe) is the new County assembly service board member replacing Omar Abdi Hassan (Damajale).

But in a letter dated September 7, addressed to the Assembly speaker, signed by Junet Mohamed and copied to all the MCAs who had been replaced dismissed the new changes and instead said that the status quo remains.

 “It has been brought to our attention of a communication dated 3rd September 2023 and received in your office on 5th September 2023 purporting to change the leadership of the Majority party/coalition in the Garissa County Assembly,” reads the letter.

“At no given time as the Coalition party, we have sanctioned the said changes in the County Assembly,” it added noting that “while the office of the secretary-general attempts to ascertain the propriety or otherwise of the actions taken, we urge the status quo be reverted to immediately”.

The ODM party also later issued a statement to confirm the same.

 The ousted majority leader who is serving his first term took to his Facebook page to hit out at those who carried out the changes which he referred to as a ‘coup’.

 “In the last few days we have witnessed a coup which was engineered and orchestrated by among others the County Assembly speaker purporting to remove me and my fellow honorable members from party positions in the house in our absentia,” Abubakar said in the post.

  “For the record, the changes have since been revoked by the highest organ of the party leadership in Nairobi simply because the due process was not followed. It should be noted that the speaker cannot purport or whoever is pushing it cannot purport to push the speaker to make changes without the knowledge of the mother party,” read part of his post.

He said that the party has not had a meeting or anybody written to the party complaining about his conduct as the majority leader promising to continue to discharge his duties as he has done before.

This was just cheap politics at play which I urge my fellow members led by the speaker to rise above.

Khalif who later spoke to KNA on the phone said that he had already obtained a court injunction stopping the changes saying that the concerned parties will be served in the course of the day.

As controversy rages on, the political party’s dispute tribunal has issued orders restraining the new appointees from assuming office in an order dated September 7th.

Courtesy; KNA