MCAs plot removal of Hassan Ali Joho’s executive team

By Patrick Beja

Mombasa, Kenya: Members of the Mombasa County Assembly have declared they will seek the sacking of several top officials in Governor Hassan Joho’s government.

The MCAs said they would press for the removal of several county executive committee members whom they accused of non-performance.

This comes a day after an impeachment motion against one of the executive members flopped.

Majority Leader Khamis Mwabashiri said the MCAs are determined to remove Finance Secretary Walid Khalid and other non-performing members of the county executive from office.

Mwabashiri, who is Mjambere Ward representative, declined to give names of the other county ministers targeted for removal.

However, the MCAs said they still supported Joho despite the attempts to purge his administration.

On Wednesday, a motion to impeach Walid Khalid collapsed after the temporary Deputy Speaker Msabwah Rashid ruled that it had been properly brought to the assembly and referred it to the newly constituted House Business Committee (HBC) to allocate a new date.

“We are targeting individual county executive secretaries who do not deliver. They accepted the jobs and they should carry their own cross,” he said.

Off the hook

The more than 20 MCAs declared that Walid, who has been accused of abuse of office and incompetence, was not off the hook yet as they would continue with plans to impeach him.

“We have referred the motion to impeach Khalid to the House Business Committee as a matter of procedure and we will pursue him,” Mwabashiri said.

He denied MCAs were fighting Governor Joho.

He was addressing a Press conference at the assembly’s committee room and was flanked by Minority Leader Karisa Nzai and more than 20 MCAs.

Mr Saad Faraj, the mover of the impeachment motion against Walid, said he is still pursuing the matter. He had been accused of absenting himself from the assembly when the motion came up on Wednesday.

“I did not disappear. I had learnt of a technical hitch (with the motion) and realised the motion could not continue as it was before the House ahead of the reconstitution of the House Business Committee. Now that the committee is in place, we are going to hold Khalid to account,” Faraj said.

The MCAs denied meeting the executive so as to abandon the censure motion, claiming they were operating independently.

They also clarified that ODM Senators Hassan Omar and Anyang’ Nyong’o met them on Wednesday to discuss how to revive harambees in the county and not to persuade them to demand for accountability from “Mombasa governor and his team”.

The two senators were seen within the precints of the assembly during the debate on the failed motion.

“Prof Nyong’o basically discussed the possible revival of harambees in the country. He did not come to Coast to discuss Mombasa assembly issues,” Mwabashiri said.

Even after allowing the notice of Motion on Tuesday, Deputy Speaker Rashid changed tune when the matter came up for debate on Wednesday afternoon and ordered that it be allocated time by the HBC.

“Since the House Business Committee has now been formed, I order that all motions be allocated time by this committee. I have made the ruling,” Rashid had declared.

When  the matter came up at 2.30pm,  Nominated Member of the County Assembly Mohamed Hatimy, a close ally of Joho, shot up to seek postponement of the Motion on what he described as technical grounds.

Hatimy cited Standing Order number 47 of county assemblies, which stipulates that the House Business Committee had to issue a timetable for such motions.

“I rise to oppose this Motion because it has to be allowed by the House Business Committee. It should also be on the order paper sanctioned by the committee,” Hatimy said.

Hatimy had also argued that it would require a 14-day notice for a member to introduce a motion without endorsement of the HBC.

 Ironically, Faraj, who represents Tononoka Ward in the assembly and is also chairman of the assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, was not in the House on Wednesday.

Khalid is acused of authorising a waiver for transport companies leading to the loss of Sh100 million in revenue.