Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 780159,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/780159/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Again, this attempts to deal with that same scenario whereby you have a Deputy Governor who was elected alongside a Governor then the Governor is unable to proceed with office for various reasons. In this case, when the Governor has passed on, the Deputy Governor will assume that office. The Deputy Governor will address that office but then, how do you address the vacuum that will arise now that he has become the Governor and left the office of the Deputy Governor? We have addressed that and given a timeline to ensure that there is concurrence with other elected officials of the County Assembly, so they fill the office together. The Bill also sets out instances when the office of the deputy county governor may become vacant. For instance, when the deputy county governor dies, resigns, ceases to be eligible for nomination, assumes the office of county Governor under Article 182 (2), or he is convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment or is removed from the office under the procedure provided in the Bill. The Bill provides for the swearing-in of the county governor-elect to be conducted in a public ceremony before a High Court Judge or in the absence of a Judge, before the resident Chief Magistrate. It sets out that the swearing-in ceremony shall take place on the first Tuesday, following the 21st day after the declaration of the results of the county governor. Mr. Deputy, Speaker, Sir, this procedure is important. We all remember the scenarios as I listed last time after the elections of the year 2013 when there were chaos because there were no guidelines as to how the procedure will be executed. It is important for people to understand. The key word to stress here is the persons or the people who are empowered by this law to carry out the swearing-in ceremony. I have seen the Senate Minority Leader walking out at that particular point. It is the resident High Court Judge who should carry out that task of swearing-in the county governor. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Clause 17, the Bill provides the handing over of the county symbols as a sign of transfer of executive power and authority. Most counties even as of now do not have a county flag and a public seal. I remember attending one of the swearing-in ceremonies and I saw one governor handing over to the other some small gift or something that looked like an elephant, like the ones given during the price giving day. This will require counties to make sure they have developed their instruments of power, county flag; they have the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the county public seal. These are the instruments of power and authority that should be handed over during the handing over ceremony for the county governor-elect. Clause 17 (2) of the Bill sets out the circumstances in which the handing over of those instruments shall not apply such as when the outgoing governor is not present during the inauguration or when the incumbent is re-elected to office. Since, it is the incumbent who has been in that office he does not need to hand over the same instruments back to himself. However, there might be instances when the outgoing governor, for various other reasons, either genuine or not - he could be sick, indisposed or may out-rightly refuse to attend like we saw in some of the cases. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}