Kirinyaga County Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici has accused Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju of overreaching his mandate as occasioned by the firing of the Kirinyaga County Assembly Majority Leader James Kamau Murango.
In a statement on her social media platforms on Monday, April 6, Ngirici accused Tuju of frustrating the assembly leaders who had mooted a bid to have Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru removed from office over alleged gross misconduct.
"The outgoing Secretary-General of Jubilee Party Raphael Tuju has demonstrated vividly that he is serving the interests of certain individuals and the interests of the Jubilee membership. The outgoing Secretary-General has no power to remove the majority leader from office," she wrote.
Ngirici informed that the Standing Orders of the Kirinyaga County Assembly held that the power to remove a majority leader was in the hands of elected and nominated MCAs and insisted that James Kamau Murango remains the majority leader unless voted out as per the standing orders.
"Tuju ought to have learned from the humiliation he received in the case of Simon Kamau and 3 others vs Raphael Tuju and the Jubilee Party where the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruled that he has no power to remove Majority Leaders," she wrote.
Ngirici further claimed that Tuju was against the impeachment process mooted against Waiguru yet he had played an active role in the impeachment of the former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.
"It is surprising why Tuju actively supported the impeachment process in Kiambu County but is now becoming an impediment in Kirinyaga County. Even if he was to make a decision, which organ of the party met to authorize him to do so?
"Has Hon Tuju become a power by himself? He ought to know that he is not an owner-occupier in Jubilee house and neither are we tenants. And even if we are, even tenants have rights," Ngirici posed.
She further insisted that Tuju and other party officials were holding their posts unconstitutionally as their terms expired in March 2020, and that the registrar of political parties was yet to extend their mandate.
She stated that the accusations she was launching against Tuju were enough grounds for him to take leave of his post in the party to pave way for the elections of new leaders.
With regards to Waiguru's impeachment bid, Ngirici asked her to defend herself before the MCAs if she indeed believed that she was innocent and deserved to remain in office.
"Present your defence to the County Assembly. Our MCAs are reasonable leaders and are unlikely to be guided by anything other than facts and the law.
"It is in your interests for the sake of your reputation and credibility to support the impeachment process. Given your troubled legacy at the National Youth Service, you should support a process that brings out the truth, otherwise, you create a situation where the words Waiguru and Integrity cannot be used in the same sentence," she urged.
