MCAs to shut down county assemblies in protest over missing Wajir colleague

The Della Ward MCA has been missing for the last 49 days since he was abducted in Nairobi County by unknown individuals.

CAF Chairperson Philemon Sabulei said that the efforts made by the members and the MCA’s family had not been successful and that they would down tools in the next 14 days if that would get the government’s attention.

“This incident has created a climate of fear among the county members with no clear action taken to ensure his safe return. Despite our outreach to the Inspector General of Police and multiple appeals to the relevant authorities, there has been no action,” Mr Sabulei said.

The members said that they had been threatened, physically attacked and assaulted by some Members of Parliament when they expressed their dissenting views at the grassroots level, where they represent the interests of the locals.

The MCAs demanded that the government, through its security agencies, take immediate and transparent action to ascertain the whereabouts of the abducted MCA.

The forum also agreed with the decision from the Wajir County Assembly Speaker Abdille Yussuf Mohamed to adjourn its sittings in the next seven days in solidarity with the missing member, who is also the majority leader in the assembly.

“Injustice in Wajir is injustice everywhere in the Republic of Kenya. We must speak with a very loud and clear voice that this time the government respects the county leadership,” Mr Sabulei said.

Speaker Abdille said that the body that had been dumped in a river on Wajir was not of the missing MCA as had been speculated and that they recently buried the unknown body according to Islamic rites.

He claimed that they had reason to believe that the government was behind the MCA’s abduction.

The security of MCAs has also been highlighted as one of the threats to the members, who called upon the government to initiate the process of designating security details to protect them.

Mr Tony Khaoya from Bungoma County decried said the police are being used by some powerful lawmakers to frustrate their quest for justice.

He claimed that despite reporting his case to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution detailing his attack in September, no action had been taken against one of the sitting members from the region who attacked him.

During the press briefing, Nominated MCA Lucy Njeri, who recently buried her daughter, said that her life was in danger. She said a suspicious vehicle has been trailing her since her daughter’s suspicious death was reported.

Ms Njeri claimed that the people who killed her daughter, Seth Nyakio, are after her life and the government should investigate the matter.

She also claimed that the people who killed her daughter were powerful and were known by the police.

“It is a gang that can come after you at any given time. It is a syndicate that the police are protecting,” Ms Njeri said.

Her daughter was found murdered in a rented room in Thika, Kiambu County on October 21, where she had gone to visit a friend.