Kisii County governor James Ongwae is under pressure from a section of MCAs affiliated to ODM party to drop his deputy Joash Maangi ahead of 2017 general election following his reported close relations with the ruling Jubilee coalition.
Maangi on Tuesday during an interview at Egesa FM dismissed claims by opposition coalition leaders that he was working with Jubilee to undermine ODM party.
He reiterated that he will continue to work with the government for the sake of development.
Speaking on Tuesday at Storm Hotel, MCAs Evans Siko (Sameta) and Samuel Apoko (Kiogoro) challenged Ongwae to drop his deputy given his alleged rebellion against ODM party despite being its member.
“I want to advise my governor for free, time has come for him to distance himself from his deputy who is working with Jubilee government which is basically unpopular in our region. We are always at the grassroots and we know the mood of our people. Time has come for him to say enough is enough and distance himself from what Maangi is doing," Siko said.
Apoko on his part challenged Ongwae to commence the process of looking for Maangi's replacement ahead of 2017 elections.
“Maangi has shown that he isn’t with us. If you disrespect the principles of the party by courting our opponents then you have no business in our party. It’s time for Ongwae to look for an able replacement who won’t betray him,” he said.
Maangi last week led a delegation of 3,000 people from Kisii and Nyamira counties to Deputy President William Ruto’s home in Sugoi for a meeting which has faced criticism from a section of opposition leaders.