The Siaya county assembly on Thursday impeached the local county public service board chairman, Joe Donde.
Members of the county assembly Donde of illegally sending some of his board members home.
The assembly, in its resolutions passed unanimously by members of the county assembly, ordered Siaya governor, Cornel Rasanga to immediately suspend the former Gem member of parliament from performing the duties of the board chairman and establish a tribunal to investigate issues raised in a petition to the assembly by one of the suspended members, Ishmael Noo Onyango.
In a report tabled by the chairman of the Justice and Legal affairs committee, Francis Otiato, the assembly further recommended that both the County Secretary, Dave Anyona and the Director of Human Resource, Dismas Obondo be surcharged for the salaries that the three board members will be paid for the period they were away as a result of the suspensions.
Otiato had told the assembly that Donde, as the chairman of the CPSB had violated both the constitution and the county governments act, 2012 by acting unilaterally in suspending two members of the board and sending his deputy on compulsory leave without any known legal guidance.
The Yimbo East member of the county assembly said his committee had undertaken due diligence by reviewing legislations and consulting key informants such as the Kenya Law Reform Commission and the Public Service Commission of Kenya in reaching their conclusion that Donde erred.
“Hon. Donde relied on Public Service Commission Act, 2017 to suspend the members, yet the Act does not in any way apply to officers under the county public service; in addition, the section of the Act which the chairman quoted did not satisfy the threshold for suspension” said the committee chairman.
The assembly resolved that all the suspensions be lifted and both the petitioner, Ishmael Noo Onyango and his colleagues, John Okere Wangach and Florence Oketch resume their duties at the CPSB immediately.
By Philip Onyango
