“We have 47 Deputy governors in Kenya but I doubt whether an average Kenyan can name 3 deputy governors.” This is according to Political Risk Analyst Dismus Mokua.
During the weekly political show Politics And Power, Dismus Mokua was responding to Murang’a and Machako’s Deputy Governor’s Stephen Munania and Francis Mwangangi.
According to Mokua, Deputy Governors needed to tread carefully in counties in order not to come off as political threats.
“A normal Governor see’s the Deputy Governor on TV, they become nervous” Mokua noted.
His remarks come in the wake of the High Court upholding the impeachment of the now freshly former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.
Consequently, this ruling saw the swearing in of her Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma which evoked a litany of thoughts as to the legality of the swearing in.
Additionally, it also brought to the forefront the power dynamics between Governors and their Deputy Governors in running county affairs.
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Mokua says Governors are sweating after Kawira Mwangaza Impeachment
“Believe you me there are a number of Governors who had to take medication when they saw Isaac Mutuma being sworn into office because they saw themselves in that situation” Mokua stated.
In the packed panel with journalist Linda Alela, DG Machakos County, Francis Mwangangi stated that Deputy Governors often come off as a threat because they are often endowed with political capital.
To put the matter to perspective, Mokua highlighted that, one way to solve the power dynamics at the county level, Governors should be allowed to pick the deputies after being elected.
His thinking was not far from DG Mwangangi who also highlighted that there was a need to rethink the Deputy Governor’s position.
According to DG Mwangangi, the position of Deputy Governor needed to be scrapped.
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