Governors’ Naivasha closed door meeting almost ended in disarray after they started to differ on representation.
The Monday November 10 daylong meeting saw governors clash forcing their chairman Wycliffe Oparanya to severally intervene and order for breaks in intervals.
Oparanya, while speaking to the media, confirmed that actually the kitchen was too hot and blows almost played out.
The meeting which was taking place at Enashipai Resort in Naivasha to deliberate on the Building Bridges Initiative BBI Report before meeting with the Head of State on Tuesday is part of the leadership efforts to iron out contentious issues before a final draft is made.
“Things are hot inside there but I cannot talk now because I don’t want to pre-empt. We will give you our resolution,” People Daily quoted the Council of Governor’s boss.
It started when some sections proposed that governors must pick their deputies from opposite gender and also to elect their committee members from the county assembly MCAs,
But immediately this was proposed, three governors including ODM’s Okoth Obado from Migori, Lee Kinyanjui from Nakuru and Muthoni Njuki from Tharaka Nithi fearlessly opposed it as retrogressive.
“Even in mature democracy like in the US, the candidates make their decision on who should be their running mate,” stated Obado as his counterpart Njuki reinforced that:
“If it is after the elections then it is okay, but as a running mate it doesn’t sit well with us,” argued Njuki.
This triggered Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu to raise on a point of order dismissing both Obado and Njuki by saying that female gender was becoming more efficient and must be pushed through too.
“What they claim here is that it is very difficult to get the opposite gender because they do not have strong women on the ground as there are men.
It would be very good because we would be building capacity for women. They also start to learn how to run for office and that is the argument we are putting here,” she stated.
Their views are supposed to make part of the Building Bridges BBI final agenda which will culminate into a referendum later in the year.
