Former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi now claims that she resigned from her position in 2020 to abstain from participating in the process to remove Mike Sonko, the then-governor of Nairobi.
In an interview with Citizen TV’s JKLive on Wednesday, Elachi said that Sonko’s removal was being pushed for by county assembly leaders, so she decided to step aside because she had no personal grudge against the former county chief.
“I left, I know I never told anybody. I was not supposed to impeach Sonko. It was not my duty…that I was given the Speakership to come one day to impeach Sonko? No. It was none of my business, so I realised do I really want to impeach Sonko? It is not me, let me leave and someone else will come and do this,” Elachi told Jeff Koinange.
She also implied that some MCAs and county officials had launched a witch hunt against Sonko with the intention of forcing him out of office.
Read: Beatrice Elachi: Former Nairobi Speaker Making Second Stab At Dagoretti North MP Seat
“I would not have gone to do a job that I know is not my business and we were just doing things in terms of haunting each other and it does not make sense at all. So I asked myself am I supposed to do all the dirty duties? I think it is time to leave before you come to do the last dirty duty that will come to haunt you,” she elucidated.
“We had our own issues and we never quarreled with him (Sonko), never, even to date. I left because it was none of my business to impeach him.”
The Dagoretti North MP also noted that many MCAs end up being unruly toward county assembly personnel, which ultimately cripples operations and results in unfair dismissals.
“When they (MCAs) are looking for a job, they are very good. The moment they get a job they turn around and become a very different person and it is very disappointing,” Elachi said.
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Elachi resigned as speaker in August 2020 following a protracted tussle with Ward Representatives.
In a televised address, the legislator said she had tendered her resignation to then President Uhuru Kenyatta.
She cited “threats to her life” and “lots of conflicts” as some of the reasons for her resignation.
“We have seen tremendous change but also challenges. With the coming in of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, I believe Nairobi will transform to a better capital city. Notwithstanding, for the last few days, we have seen lots of conflict and even life-threatening incidents,” she said.
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In December 2020. three months after her resignation, Sonko was impeached.
He was ousted on grounds of abuse of office, gross misconduct as well as lack of capability to run county affairs.
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