Nakuru — Nakuru County Government has finally sworn it’s County Executive Committee Members after a winding court battle.
The CECMs were sworn today in a brief ceremony at the County Headquarters bringing to an end a stalemate between Governor Susan Kihika and two petitioners.
Speaking after the swearing in ceremony, Kihika said it was not easy running the county alone for three and a half months.
“My 100 days starts today, the journey to deliver on my pledges starts today and I urge the CECMs to immediately get to office and start working,” she said.
Kihika said the past few months since her installation as the Governor had been overwhelming because she did not have CECMs of County Officers.
“The CECMs will find their in-trays full and but this should not worry residents since the team is up to the task,” she said.
Nakuru county is the last to have CECMs after two petitioners, Magete Gikenyi and Daniel Bett moved to court in early October opposing the nomination list.
The petitioners told the Employment and Labour Relations Court that the list was illegal as it did not reflect the county’s ethnic diversity.
The ELRC quashed the nomination list on December 5 and urged the governor to ensure her new appointment was within the constitution.
Today, Kihika said the new nominees were property vetted and passed by the County Assembly.
She urged her cabinet to maintain integrity and avoid interdepartmental wrangles.
The Governor maintained that none of the CECMs was appointed to serve their ethnic community, Constituency of region but to serve the people of Nakuru without favour or affection.
Out of the 10 CECMs, only one, Jacqueline Osoro who was retained from the previous regimes.
Besides being the substantive CECM for Public Service and Devolution during former Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s administration, Osoro was acting minister for Health.
Kihika said she gave Osoro the Health docket for continuity because health was one of the vital services that her administration was granting special focus.
Former Naivasha MP, John Kihagi will be in charge of Lands, Housing and Urban planning while former Biashara ward MCA, Stephen Muiruri will hold the Trade docket.
Others are Education, Youth and ICT Ziporrah Wambui, Agriculture Fisheries and Cooperatives Leonard Kipkoech Bor, Sports, Josephine Atieno Achieng, Public Service Management, Roselyne Wanjiru Mungai, Environment Joseph Tanui Mara, Infrastructure Eng Michael Kamau Karanja and Finance and economic Planning Stephen Iribe Njogu.