By Andanje Wakhungu
The leadership of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party in Kakamega has rubbished allegations that the secretariat has impeached the Leader of the Majority in the County Assembly, Mr Philip Maina. Addressing the media at Orange House on Tuesday, Kakamega governor Fernandez Barasa, who also doubles up as the party county chairman, dismissed the ongoing rumours and maintained that, as a party, they had not received any communication from the party headquarters concerning the issue and called on party officials and members to keep calm and await official communication over the same.
“We have heard the ongoing rumours concerning the impeachment of the Leader of the Majority, allegedly from SG Edwin Sifuna, after our ODM MCAs collected signatures to impeach Mr. Maina over unspecified claims.”
Governor Barasa met the embattled Leader of the Majority and other MCAs at the Kakamega ODM offices to deliberate over the same and find a way forward in case the matter is confirmed. He assured the Leader and other MCAs that all was well for now and that they would only highlight the matter if it arose.
The move to impeach the majority leader was hatched at the County Assembly, where 33 ODM MCAs are said to have appended their signatures in a dispute over Mr Maina’s leadership style before forwarding the same to the party secretariat for approval.
At the same time, a faction of Azimio-affiliated party leaders allied with Kakamega governor Fernandez Barasa held a press conference at the county assembly offices and threw their weight behind the Leader of the Majority.
