The Council of Governors (COG) has come out to condemn the Daily Nation newspaper over an article published on its Wednesday, December 18 edition.
In a statement published on the same publication on December 19, the council of governors expressed their displeasure with an opinion piece titled 'Governors Wrong To Shield Crime Suspects', which they dismissed as inaccurate and misleading.
The contentious piece had painted the governors as having it all wrong in their decision to challenge a court ruling that called for their colleagues caught up in corruption scandals to stay away from the office until their cases were resolved.
The governors, in a rejoinder, stated that by going to the courts to seek clarity on the orders, they were acting within the confines of the law and in the best interests of the Kenyan citizens contrary to the arguments by the author.
"We wish to inform the public that the opinion piece is misleading and does not reflect the purpose or the intent to move to court. We reiterate that the Council of Governors is committed to the fight against corruption as we have emphasised in the past," the statement signed by the CoG head Wycliffe Oparanya read.
He stated that the reasons for the governor's stance were that while the law was clear on instances in which the deputy governors could act, it severely limited their powers thereby hampering service delivery.
"The deputy governor cannot chair cabinet meetings which are mandatory in carrying the executive function of running the county, nominate, appoint or dismiss executive staff and assent to any county legislation," the statement reads in part.
They also expressed the notion that the demand by the courts to have the governors step aside pending the determination of their cases had been misconstrued as removal from office, which in their opinion, was against the law.
The governors insisted that they had moved to court to be provided with the court's opinion and clarity on the call for governors to step aside, and what exactly the parameters were to ensure effective service delivery in the event where a governor was barred from office.
The CoG urged the publication to be more vigilant in the information they fed the public.
"As the council of Governors, we urge all well-meaning citizens to support devolution. We further urge the media to refrain from issuing or publishing misleading information that may cause anxiety and unnecessary debates on the matter," the statement concludes.
