Nairobi — Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei is pushing for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to open an investigation against Governor Stephen Sang over violation of leadership, integrity, and corruption.
In a statement, the Nandi Senator argued that the move by the county boss to appoint Nandi County Executive Members (CECs) without the County Assembly approval is a gross violation of the constitution which calls for a probe.
The High Court ruling nullified the CECs' appointments on the grounds that the list did not reflect the county's cultural, gender, and ethnic diversity.
Cherargei lauded the ruling terming it a big win for the Nandi County people insisting that the Nandi County Boss ought to be impeached from office for violating the constitution.
"The Public Appointments (County Assemblies Approval) Act No.5 of 2007 is clear on the approval of county appointments by the county assembly and this did not happen in Nandi because Governor Sang arm-twisted, intimidated and blackmailed the county assembly from vetting," Cherargei stated.
The High Court ordered that the Nandi Governor ought to re-advertise all eight CEC positions after hearing and deciding a suit filed by Nandi resident Onesmus Kimeli.
The suit named all eight CECs as interested parties and Governor Stephen Sang as the first respondent. The governor had appointed the eight last November after winning his second term in office.
The Nandi Senator has asked the Controller of Budget to be careful in disbursing allocation of funds to Nandi County with no county executive in place.
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Cherargei decried that Nandi County is lagging behind development due to mismanagement of funds alleging that the county is being rundown due to the ineffectiveness of the county boss.
"Governor Sang is slowly painfully running down Nandi County into the oblivion of development. In Nandi County, at the moment roads are impassable, lack of drugs in hospitals, non-availability of bursaries, and marginalized allocation of development," he said.
The Nandi Governor has maintained that he will not re-advertise the County Executive as directed by the court.
The Governor said that the direction given by the Court is not anchored on any known legal provisions.
"We respectfully disagree that the positions of the CECM be 'advertised as directed by the court in this case. Section 35 of the County Governments Act expressly provides for the process of appointing CECMs," Sang said.
The court ruled that Nandi Governor Stephen Sang and the Nandi County Assembly failed to vet the five CECs who were serving in Governor Stephen Sang's first term and also failed to observe the two-thirds gender rule.
