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{
    "id": 966660,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/966660/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 159,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Deputy Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "governors to the office of the governor in event of death. In Nyeri on two occasions; that was in 2015 and in 2017; and in Bomet in 2019. I suspect the process would be seamless and would not suffer any legal hitches in event of resignation, impeachment or other grounds listed in Articles 181 and 182 of the Constitution, as supplemented by Section 33 of the County Governments Act and the Standing Orders of the Senate; and further by Article 144 of the Constitution, which is on the removal of the President of Kenya from Office on grounds of mental or physical infirmity, and which Article applies to county governors mutatis mutandis, with necessary modifications. Thus, there is no law that suggests that where a Governor is facing criminal charges, a vacancy has arisen. This is because it does not fall into any of those categories; there is no vacancy. There is no law to suggest that such governor ceases to hold office. Therefore in the respective matters of the Kiambu and Samburu counties, the governors are still in office. The only instances that give rise to a vacancy is the instances that I have already provided for. In sharp contrast, however, the law is not very direct or clear on the powers and functions of a deputy county governor who is acting in the absence of the governor; neither is the concept of “absence” defined in any law. Article 179(5) of the Constitution simply states that “when the county governor is absent, the deputy county governor shall act as the county governor.” It does not say absent from office, absent from the territory of the county or absence from the country or the jurisdiction of Kenya. It does not say absent from where. However, it is my view, and I will give my reasons at the tail end, that what was intended was to allow a deputy governor to act when the governor is at least outside the county. This is because you cannot imagine that anytime the governor is not in the office, then the deputy governor is acting, even if the governor is two kilometres away presiding over a function. My view is that what was intended was to allow deputy governors to act when the governor is, at the minimum, out of the jurisdiction of his county or outside the territory of the Republic of Kenya for a significant period of time – I will explain that as well – to enable seamless flow of services to citizens. The whole idea of allowing the deputy to act is not to provide an avenue, as we have seen in some cases, for competition and trying to jostle for prominence. It is to allow seamless service provision. Therefore, when the governor is away for some considerable time, the deputy governor is able to serve the citizens of that county. The legal provisions in the foregoing paragraph are not elaborated any further. In other words under Section 179, other than saying, “In the absence of the county governor, the deputy shall act,” it has not elaborated any further, except for the limits placed on the deputy governor in section 32(4). Any other elaboration is Section 32(4) of the County Government Act which says that when the deputy governor is acting, he cannot touch the issues of appointment, dismissal or nomination of officials, neither can the governor decide to delegate. Even if the governor delegates, the deputy is prevented from acting. What then is the meaning of the word “absence,” as used in Article 179(5) of the Constitution? How does that meaning apply to the situation of a governor against whom The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}