Elected Governors to be sworn-in next week
Governors who were elected last week will be sworn into office next week on Thursday following their gazettement. County secretaries of the selected counties gazetted the incoming county bosses vide notice Vol. CXXIV No.166 dated on August 19, 2022.
Apart from Mombasa and Kakamega, governors were elected in 45 counties during the August 9 polls. Gubernatorial election in the two counties were slated for August 23 but the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has since postponed the polls to a yet to be announced date.
By law, all newly elected governors are supposed to be sworn in 10 days after being declared winners by the IEBC. The swearing-in is supposed to take place on the first Thursday after the lapse of 10 days.
In the just-concluded general elections, seven women outshone men for their counties’ top positions. Among them is coast region’s first female governor Fatuma Achani of Kwale County.
In Kirinyaga, Anne Waiguru was reelected as Kirinyaga governor, while Susan Kihika and Gladys Wanga will become the first women governors of Nakuru and Homa Bay county respectively.
Cecily Mbarire was also elected as the first woman governor in Embu, while Kawira Mwangaza, who ran as an independent, broke the record by winning the governor’s race with 209,148 votes in Meru. In Machakos, after two unsuccessful attempts, Wavinya Ndeti will now become the county’s first woman governor.
Other counties that will have elected governors sworn in include, Kajiado, Kiambu, Makueni, Baringo, Samburu, Kisumu, Kitui, Marsabit, Taita Taveta, Laikipia, Wajir and Isiolo.
Trans Nzoia, Tharaka Nithi, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, Garissa, Turkana, Mandera, Nyandarua, Vihiga, Kisii, Nandi and Migori will also see governors take the oath.
The law stipulates that the oath or affirmation shall take place not earlier than 10am and not later than 2pm.
“The Governor-elect shall, during the swearing-in ceremony, take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation of office as prescribed in the First Schedule section of the Assumption of the Office of Governor Act 2019,” states the law states.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has already appointed 47 judges who will preside over the swearing-in. Magistrates will assist in preparing the relevant oaths/affirmations and certificate, checking and confirming the gazetted information as to the declared governor/deputy governor-elect.
They are also mandated with confirming the identity of the declared governor/deputy governor-elect as well as ascertaining the gazetted information against the form 37D.
“The magistrate may immediately commence co-ordination with the relevant county government offices and/or Committee on the Assumption of Office of Governor in regard to the swearing-in and shall keep the judge appraised of the progress,” read the circular.
Judiciary Chief Registrar Anne Amadi has already issued guidelines which will be used during the oath-taking ceremony. This is aimed at ensuring that there is no delay in new county chiefs getting to the office. It also gives room for a smooth transition, more so in counties, where governors have served their maximum two terms of 10 years as stipulated by the Constitution.
Also read:
Meru Governor-elect Kawira Mwangaza joins William Ruto’s team