Meru Members of County Assembly (MCAs) walked out on Governor Kawira Mwangaza during her inaugural address on Wednesday, October 19 .
In footage seen by Kenyans.co.ke Mwagaza took to the podium and made her speech in an empty hall, with only officials of the county assembly present.
The MCAs snubbed her speech on claims that she had been frustrating their efforts to access her, redirecting them to the Deputy Governor.
When she arrived at the assembly, she met with a group of MCAs who barricaded the entrance.
" I found that they had parked a Probox to block the entrance, so I decided to use the back entrance which was also locked forcing me to access the premises on foot
"We had been tipped off that they had armed themselves with clubs, stones, and all forms of weapons" Mwangaza stated.
Attempts to address them in the local dialect proved futile and police officers were forced to lob teargas canisters to disperse the crowd. She later made her way into the chambers shielded by her security and the sergeant of arms.
Inside the house, the ward representatives who were gathered in groups took off leaving the county chief alone. Mwangaza accused the MCAs of demanding a bribe to pass the nominees to her cabinet.
"The issue of blackmailing the governor asking me to give you Ksh5 million so that you approve the nominees, I will not accept. I will not part with any money for you to do your job," the governor stated.
She further refuted claims that she had refused to engage the county leadership, noting that she had visited 20 wards and was accompanied by respective MCAs on each tour.
On October 18, the MCAs warned the county chief that they would not allow her to officially open the assembly and make her inaugural address. They accused Mwangaza of sidelining them and frustrating their attempts to engage her.
"It has been very difficult to work with our governor because every time we try to engage her, she says she has not time.
"We have decided that we will boycott her address until the day she will agree to have a sit-down and discuss with MCAs the work that needs to be done in the wards," the MCAs declared.
Furthermore, they vowed to frustrate Mwangaza reckoning that she needed them for the approval of several projects.
"The assembly has a very great role to play because on matters finance and budget, approval of CEC nominees and chief officers. There is no way she can work without us," the county lawmakers declared.
They warned that if the stalemate continued, they would table a motion to vacate her kicked out of office.
"Let it be known that she is the only leader. We ask the parliament to amend the law that dictates that a governor must stay in office for 18 months before a motion of impeachment can be tabled against them so that we start with ours in Meru," they noted.
Mwangaza who won the gubernatorial seat as an independent candidate needs the support of the MCAs to push her legislative agenda.
