Lamu County Assembly rejects deputy governor nominee James Gichu » Capital News

MOMBASA, Kenya, Oct 31 – The Lamu County Assembly on Wednesday rejected the nomination of James Gichu as Deputy Governor.

Gichu, who currently serves as the County Executive Committee (CEC) member for Agriculture, had been nominated by Lamu Governor Issa Timamy to fill the vacancy left by Deputy Governor Raphael Munyua.

Munyua passed away last month due to health complications.

During the vote, the Assembly saw a deadlock, with 9 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) supporting Gichu’s nomination and 9 opposing it.

Assembly protocols require a majority to confirm a nomination; thus, the Speaker was left with no choice but to reject Gichu’s appointment, effectively halting his nomination.

The session was notably brief with no debate or statements from the MCAs explaining their votes.

“It was a split decision, and due to the tie, the Speaker had to follow procedure and automatically reject the nomination,” explained Majority Leader Bwana Bunu.

Nominated MCA Ahmed Medo noted that the Speaker’s ruling was a necessary response to the deadlock.

“When a tie occurs, Assembly protocol dictates that the nomination cannot proceed, so the Speaker was compelled to rule against the appointment,” he stated.

Governor Timamy now faces a 14-day deadline to either propose a new nominee or persuade the Assembly to reconsider Gichu’s nomination.

This is expected to intensify political lobbying, especially from Mpeketoni, the hometown of the late Deputy Governor Munyua, whose residents may push for a successor from their region.

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