Battle for Nairobi county committee seats rock Azimio
A week after the Azimio coalition won the Majority leadership position in the Nairobi County Assembly, the battle has shifted to an internal war within the coalition.
Before the dust settles, there is an impending face-off pitting the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party against coalition partners Jubilee and Wiper.
Nairobi News understands the Jubilee and Wiper feels shortchanged in the sharing of county positions.
According to a pre-election agreement, it was agreed ODM will take charge of the Speaker, Majority leader and Majority whip positions, while Jubilee and Wiper will be allowed to chair the various committees.
The budget committee was reserved for Jubilee with Kariobangi South Member of County Assembly (MCA) Robert Mbatia picked as its chairman but to the surprise of the coalition partners, the Mabatini ward MCA Wilffed Oluoch Odalo Rafuok of ODM has been nominated for the position.
The Wiper and Jubilee MCAs blame the Speaker, Majority leader, and Majority Whip for being behind the scheme of denying them their deserved seats and going against a directive issued by the ODM party executive director Oduor Ongwen on the sharing of posts in the city’s county assembly.
The county has 85 elected MCAs with Raila’s Azimio coalition bagging a majority of 45 MCAs, of which 35 are elected on an ODM ticket, Jubilee (six) while Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party got four seats.
President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) scooped 35 seats, his Chama Cha Kazi affiliate one while Independent candidates won two seats.
During the campaign period in the run-up to the August 9, polls, Azimio leaders had earmarked the Speaker’s position for the ODM party since the governor and deputy governor candidates were from Jubilee and Wiper.
Besides, members of the Kisii community reportedly feel shortchanged within Azimio circles, having vouched for the speaker’s position as compensation for losing key representation in the city after Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati, shifted to Kisii county where he was elected as the Governor.
The community had fronted the ODM Director of legal affairs Anthony Moturi Bworwochi for the Speaker’s post but the orange party wrestled the seat from him and the community and handed it to Ken Ngondi, who served as the deputy Speaker under the late Alex Ole Magelo between 2013-17.