There was drama in the Kisumu County Assembly after it emerged that 12 out of the 13 nominated MCAs were unable to communicate in either English or Kiswahili.
The revelation was made during a Wednesday session when the county legislators were required to make their maiden speeches in the two languages prescribed under the Constitution.
Most of them sought the assistance of their colleagues who wrote the speeches for them, but their little grasp of the languages was clearly evident as they fumbled while speaking.
One of the MCA nominated MCAs tried to state: “Mr Speaker Sir! allow me to thank Raila, my leader, for take me, for choose me, oohh. Speaker let me try Swahili. Speaker naskuru my party Raila [sic].”
Temporary Speaker Otieno Ogola confirmed that some of the MCAs had difficulty in communication but assured that their contributions would be heard in the assembly.
“As a Speaker, I will ensure that I teach them how best to communicate. It’s not something that should worry the residents. I will ensure that the MCAs contributions are felt in the House,” Mr Ogola conveyed.
He added that this was the first time for most of the MCAs to speak in the assembly and that they would get used to it as time goes by.
“It is the first time they are getting into this and I am sure that after training them, they will be on top of things,” Mr Ogola stated.
Kondele Ward Rep Joachim Oketch stated that other legislators always assist the linguistically-challenged MCAs before the commencement of House business.
“It is true, it’s a challenge for them but as they are our colleagues and we will not fail to assist them because they also have a role in developing this great county,” he said.
Kisumu county deputy governor Dr Mathews Owili stated that the number of illiterate MCAs in the Assembly would negatively affect the development of the county.
“Although we have a huge number of MCAs who are learned and who can also pass our agendas, we expect that the nominated ones should play a role to represent the interests of those they were nominated for. So how does someone who doesn’t understand English present a bill in the House,” Mr Owili posed.
