Makueni MCAs claim their lives are in danger

By Onesmus Nzioka

Makueni, Kenya: Members of the Makueni County Assembly have abandoned the assembly chambers in wote town citing security threats.

The county reps have now decided to camp at a hotel in Malili, from where they are conducting house business, terming the building in wote a security threat.

In an Interview with The Standard, several of the county representatives said they were aware of a plot by some members of the public, under the leadership of some activists, to attack them while inside the chambers at Wote town.

“We as women legislators have been threatened with rape inside the assembly. We cannot take the threat as a joke and put our lives in danger,” one of the female representatives told The Standard.

Several female representatives who did not want to be named said they were nearly sexually assaulted when they passed the controversial amended budget bill late last month, saying they cannot assume things with the latest threat.

Their male counterparts also cite threats of being sodomised and other physical abuse saying they are now living in danger.

Wote ward representative Sammy Maseka said he has been receiving threatening messages as well as noticing strange vehicles near his compound.

One of the short text message allegedly send to him reads, “ngari yako ndio inachukua sahii ya kuondoa Govnor wewe jiadhari sana chunga.(sic) (your vehicle is one of those involved in collecting signatures to impeach the governor, be cautioned.”

Maseka has said he is drafting a motion to be tabled before the house, seeking to censor the governor on grounds of alleged misconduct and incompetence. He accused the governor of being behind the latest threats to assembly members.

He said he has recorded a statement with the police concerning the threat.

Makueni OCPD Joshua Ole Leina however said he is not aware of such a statement but promised to investigate the matter. Leina advised the county representatives to record statements with the police over their latest allegation, to enable the police unravel those behind the said threats.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana had earlier warned the MCAs that he would seek the people’s help to deal with them over the county’s budgetary appropriations where the MCAs increased the assembly allocation to Sh975Miillion.

The MCAs have since agreed, through the intervention of the Controller of Budget, to cut the assembly allocation meant for Operations and maintenance to Sh624Million or 13 percent of the total county revenue.

The governor has however opposed it, saying the amount was still too high. This has been the cause for a renewed altercation between the governor and the MCAs, who are now calling for a censor of the governor.