County governors, deputies rocky working relationships
By Reuben.Mwambingu, June 15, 2022For most deputy governors, it has been a sweet and sour experience working under their bosses.
Mombasa deputy governor William Kingi, is the latest to have tasted the sour side of the position after county enforcement officers allegedly raided his home and confiscated one of his official vehicles, in what is seen as a result of his growing friction with his boss Hassan Joho.
Last week Kingi, who has been cleared by IEBC to contest in the race to succeed Joho through the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) claimed county officers ordered him to return office equipment, including his car.
But the clash between governors and their deputies is not new. Shortly after county leaders were sworn in to lead the devolved units; it became evident that most of the pioneer deputy governors were suffering in silence under the shadows of their bosses.
Mombasa pioneer governor deputy governor Hazel Katana is a classic example of the vicious rivalry in leadership at the helm of county governments. She recalls how her excitement of being a pioneer DG would fade in a rocky environment that defined her tenure.
“To be honest when it was happening, I thought it was because it was a new thing and they were just teething problems. But I guess because I am a woman it would be difficult to work in an environment full of men; religion also played a part…but the root cause is if the deputy governors position had been given clear roles in the Constitution, it would be a bit different,” Katana recalls.
Referring to her experience under Governor Joho, Katana says the Constitution does not clearly define the responsibilities of the DG leaving their work at the mercy of the governors.
“When I came in I was given the human resource role and I would approve travels for county executives and all that but it didn’t even last…Later I was relegated to assignments like going to read speeches and the county secretary was elevated into a more powerful position than mine,” she recalls adding that the governor himself never approached her on anything.
Even though she enjoyed representing the governor abroad where she would be given first class treatment among other privileges, she says because the constitution does not define the roles of a DG in details, the position always felt empty whenever no roles were accorded to her.
Mary Ndigha who deputised John Mruttu in neighbouring Taita Taveta County, has a different story as she was never in friction with her boss.
Role outlined in Constitution
“The role of DG is in the Constitution, and when one takes up the position of the DG they are guided by the Constitution. To some extent it depends on how one got the position and the personality. There are those who got their positions by paying the governors, others had their positions negotiated by their parties,” explains Ndigha.
She says she had a very good working relationship with the governor and she respected him as her boss.
“What I understand is that some people tend to forget that the governor is the boss and the deputy is second in command. Personally, that respect of a boss or a senior is what I maintained with Mruttu and then I was very busy since I was given the position of the lands executive,” Ndigha recalls.
According to political analyst Maimuna Mwidau, the situation facing deputy governors in counties is also replicated in the National Government because, in most cases aspirants are only guided by certain interests in order to win votes.
In Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has had a bumpy ride with two of his deputies- the late Kenneth Kamto who served in the first term and the current DG Gideon Saburi whose name shot to limelight March last year after he allegedly breached Covid-19 containment protocols.
In Mombasa, Joho also had to choose the second running mate after his relations with Katana turned sour in the first term. It was alleged that guards accompanied by officers from the inspectorate department, barged into the deputy governor’s Nyali residence at night and ordered her to surrender keys to her official car.
In Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja has dropped his deputy Majala Mlagui for Pricilah Mwangeka. Despite Mlagui announcing earlier that she was keen to retain her position as deputy governor, she fell out with her boss under unclear circumstances and Mlagui has since declared interest in the Mwatate parliamentary seat under United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
It remains unclear under which circumstances the two parted ways. It is a different scenario in Kwale County where Governor Salim Mvurya who is finishing his second term has tagged along perfectly well with his deputy Fatuma Achani and he now backs her to succeed him. The bug has affected a number of counties across the country as witnessed during former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and Polycarp Igathe leadership in the City County that was short-lived.