Garissa,

Thursday, October 19, 2023

KNA by Erick Kyalo

Chaos erupted at the Garissa County assembly today following three disgruntled members of the opposition attacking the county Assembly speaker Abdi Gure.

The members have since called on the investigation agencies to look into incidence that occurred during a House business committee meeting at the assembly chambers that left the house vandalized.

The house has been divided for the past few weeks after the speaker effected contested changes of the house majority leadership, a matter which has since been referred to the Garissa high court.

Speaking to the press at his office after the disarray, the county assembly speaker said that even though he had been rescued by the sergeant at arms and some of the members present in committee, the opposing MCAs allegedly followed him to his office with an intention to harm him.

The speaker named the disgruntled members as Abubakar Khalif (Galbet), Abdirahaman Ali (Sankuri) and Omar Abdi Hassan (Damajale), he called on the Directorate of criminal investigations and the Ethic and Anti-Corruption commission to investigate the matter and hold to account those found to have broken the law.

On the issue of the changes on the Majority leadership at the assembly, the speaker said that the matter is already in court and that the members should be patient enough to wait for the outcome of the court process.

“While I was in the house presiding over a very important committee of the assembly, three of the members who were there kicked the chairs, sandwiched me between the chairs but luckily I was rescued and whisked away by the sergeant at arms through the back door,” Gure said.

“There was also a pungent spray that made our eyes to tear and caused cough. Those members then vandalized the house and left broken chairs all over the place,” he added.

While defending themselves against the accusations, the three MCAs said that the house has CCTV cameras, and that the security agencies should look at the footage to establish what exactly happened.

“What happened in the chambers was unexpected. We want the police to investigate this matter urgently because we are suspecting the speaker to be behind the chaos. Why did the speaker come to the chambers with his bodyguard who is not allowed to be in the proceedings of the house?” posed Abdirahaman Ali.

“We have a sergeant at arms in this house who is capable of doing his work, what was the bodyguard of the speaker doing in the chambers? We are going to write to the Inspector general of police to provide us with security because our lives are in danger,” he added.

Read More