The fate of besieged Nakuru County lands and planning executive Rachael Maina now hangs in the balance after a move to impeach her on Tuesday afternoon failed.
The motion mover, Biashara ward MCA Stephen Kuria, attempted to withdraw it so that more allegations could be added against her but this was rejected by temporary speaker Samuel Tonui, saying the motion had died.
The ruling by deputy speaker Tonui caused a furore in the House for close to half an hour, during which Kuria grabbed the microphone from Visoi ward MCA Edward Gitau after the latter claimed Kuria was using the motion as a ‘bargaining chip’ for selfish benefits.
In his presentation applying for more time to gather and produce more evidence, Kuria said a recent decision by Mrs Maina had caused him to withdraw the present motion so that he could bolster it with fresh evidence that she was performing her roles with impunity.
Kuria claimed that in the latest move, Maina had hived off a 50x100 plot on the grounds of the Nakuru Old Town Hall grounds and allocated it to the Postal Corporation of Kenya in return for the establishment of the new Huduma Centre at the Nakuru GPO.
He said the move had caused an outcry from Nakuru residents, adding that it was illegal because the hall and its land are a national monument, protected as a heritage site.
“I shall take back the motion in two weeks as this land was hived off under unclear circumstances,” said Kuria.
In the previous motion Kuria had sought that a motion to remove the Executive on over alleged abuse of office charges following an order she reportedly made banning the sub-division of land below five acres within the county.
In his motion, Kuria argued that the minister exceeded her legal powers when making the order, saying only the national assembly has such powers.
The Biashara MCA also said Maina was illegible to hold office over integrity issues, claiming there was a case pending against her.