36 Garissa MCAs sign petition to impeach speaker Abbas

Some 36 MCAs from Garissa have signed a petition to impeach county assembly speaker Ibrahim Abass in a debate scheduled for Tuesday next week.

Led by Maalimin MCA Mohamud Aden, the mover of the motion, the MCAs are accusing the speaker of gross violation of the Constitution.

Garissa county has 50 MCAs.

Addressing the press outside the chambers on Thursday, Aden who read the statement on behalf the MCAs, said they have already served the assembly clerk who will in turn notify the speaker of their intention to impeach him.

In the petition, the MCAs also accuse the Abbas of running the house business in total disregard of procedures. 

Dadaab MCA Mohamed Abdi assured Garissa residents that services in the county  will not be disrupted and that the motion was not about clan or politics.

“We would like to assure members of the public and the executive wing of the government, that there will be no service hindrance as we execute our legislative mandate,” he said.

The motion will be tabled on Tuesday next week at the expiry of the seven-day notice.

The MCAs asked for enhanced security during the tabling of the motion. 

“We are merely doing our job and we expect the security agencies to do the same,” Abdi said. Efforts to reach the speaker failed as he declined to pick calls.

According to house procedures, after the motion, the speaker will be given 10 days to respond to accusations. This can be done either by him availing himself or through his lawyer(s).

This is not the first time Abass is facing an impeachment motion. Early last year  some MCAs started the impeachment process but it flopped after failing to garner enough numbers.

-Edited by SKanyara