Homa Bay County Assembly Speaker Julius Gaya has resigned from his post in a seemingly strategic political move to evade impeachment.
Gaya’s resignation came hours before an impeachment motion against him was due to take place on a Tuesday, November 12 during a sitting.
Deputy speaker Okings Okomo announced Gaya's resignation on the floor of the house saying that the whole process was procedural after receiving Gaya's resignation letter from the clerk.
“Honorable Members, I received the resignation letter of Hon Julius Gaya as the Speaker of Homa Bay County Assembly addressed to the Clerk,” he told the MCAs.
"I wish to remind you of the provision of standing order 14A (1) which provides that a speaker who intends to resign from office shall submit a letter of resignation to the clerk."
The announcement was instantly met by the trademark stomping of feet from members of the County Assembly who openly expressed their delight at Gaya's resignation.
According to Okomo, Gaya used his resignation letter to thank the members for the opportunity accorded to him to serve in the Assembly as the third Speaker since the promulgation of the new Constitution.
Gaya was elected into the seat in September 2022, immediately after the General Election. At the time, Gaya was the MCA's favourite as he comprehensively beat his closest rival - former Gwassi North MCA Evans Marieba - to win the seat.
His landslide win saw 40 out of the 54 MCAs throw their weight behind Gaya, while only 14 stood with Marieba. The win was a significant one for Gaya since he failed to defend his Central Karachuonyo ward seat in the 2022 general election.
It remains unclear what went wrong during Gaya's tenure, however, as the very MCAs who backed him immediately after the 2022 election hatched an impeachment motion against him.
He was set to appear before the whole house on Tuesday to hear an impeachment motion against him but opted to resign before proceedings went down. The grounds for his impeachment remain unclear.
Immediately after Gaya's resignation, Deputy Speaker Okomo announced a vacancy in the Speaker's seat.
