Kiambu Deputy Governor, James Nyoro, has reportedly been stopped from reshuffling Cabinet by County Attorney, John Waithaka Wanjohi.
A well-placed source who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, disclosed that Finance CEC Kigo Njenga had sought advice from the attorney after Nyoro swapped him with Trade CEC Wilson Mburu.
The attorney acknowledged that Governor Ferdinand Waititu had been barred from accessing his office but explained that he could still perform duties assigned to him.
"Here, it is instructive to note that you were appointed by the county governor and he alone has the mandate by Section 31 and 40 of the County Governments Act to dismiss a CEC and that power has not been delegated to the deputy governor.
"It, therefore, follows that the deputy governor cannot or remove or reassign a member of the County Executive from the county department post which they were serving as appointed by the governor with the approval of the County Assembly," a letter from the county attorney read in part.
Waithaka went on explain that the reshuffle would mean that "the bearer of the office of CEC Finance and Economic Planning has been re-assigned.The net effect of such re-assignment is a substantive appointment to the new docket and dismissal from the previous docket."
The conflict at the county administration seems far from resolved after different factions emerged, with the divergence of opinion following the court's decision to bar Governor Waititu from his office.
One group, which consists of Deputy Governor Nyoro and Kinoo MCA Kimani Wanjiku, argues that since the governor was barred, the county has been carrying out operations regularly and that employees salaries were dispensed on time.
"The only time we may need the governor is when the county assembly will approve a supplementary budget and he will be required to sign. When that time comes, we will see what to do. There are so many avenues that can be explored," argued Wanjiku.
He further added that the county secretary, county executive members and chief officers ensured the success of the county's operations.
The other team has, however, maintained that there is a serious leadership vacuum in the county given that the governor is responsible for assenting to county bills and hiring has been frozen.
