I’M STILL IN CHARGE, SAYS EALA SPEAKER

By Caroline Wafula,The Citizen Correspondent

Nairobi. The heat in the East African Legislative Assembly intensified yesterday with embattled Speaker of the House Margaret Zziwa declaring that she was still in office.

Speaking a day after a majority member of the regional Assembly endorsed a motion barring her from exercising duties of the Speaker’s office, Ms Zziwa, from Uganda, said the procedure used to arrive at the decision was an illegality.

“I am here as the Speaker of Eala until otherwise as shall be guided by the relevant authorities,” she stated. “Whatever is being done is an illegality, although they may have numbers, it is an illegality,” she said.

She spoke as the House Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges commenced sitting to determine the motion for the removal of the Speaker referred to as the Wednesday sitting. The committee has 21 days to come up with a verdict, during which time the Speaker has been asked to stay away from office.

The regional Assembly is currently holding its sittings at County Hall, Nairobi. The 3rd meeting of the 3rd session of the Assembly which began on November 17 has been riddled with politics of the removal of the Speaker on grounds of mismanagement of the affairs of the regional House and abuse of office.

The motion seeking her removal has been pending since March and was finally formally tabled and discussed on Wednesday in a dramatic sitting that saw disgruntled members force the Assembly Clerk chair a session where a chair was elected among them to preside over the session that adopted the motion for the Speaker’s removal.

All this happened as the Speaker was seated in her office at County Hall. According to Ms Zziwa, she had been waiting to preside over the afternoon session after adjourning the morning session due to lack of quorum.

CREDIT SOURCE: THE CITIZEN