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Deputy governors yesterday narrated horrendous ordeals they have been going through under their bosses.

The deputy governors demanded to be given designated budgets and be allowed to chair all county governments subcommittees.

The DGs told senators they need to be given powers and autonomy to perform their duties as they are equally professionals who were elected together with the governors.

Appearing before the senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations to deliberate on the Legislative Proposal on The County Government Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, eleven DGs claimed that some of the governors had subjected them to ridicule as they have no control of any matters in the counties and thus are rendered jobless.

They claimed that currently, only about 10 DGs have a good relationship with their bosses and are working well.

So bad is the situation that in some instances, County First Ladies are the ones assigned duties by the governors in their absence to receive guests whenever they visit the counties.

Out of cabinet meetings

They also claimed that some of them have been locked out of cabinet meetings for more than a year while in other cases, meetings have been held in secret without them being informed of the venues.
In other cases, County Executive Committee (CEC) members have been assigned roles to assist visitors at their expense.

They further claimed that some of them have not been allocated official vehicles, while others are denied fuel and funds to repair them.

The DGs further claimed that because governors see them as a threat, they have been forced to serve their interests in order to get budgets to even meet the most basic necessities.

Nandi Deputy governor Yualita Mitei said it is unfortunate that governors see the position of DGs as unnecessary which has made them continue suffering.

She said: “We are in a situation where some of the deputy governors are not even given notices for cabinet meetings and are not even assigned any functions. Instead of them having something to do the same is assigned to a CEC which is something they can do.

She added: “We also have cases where when the governor is not in the county, the DG will not be allowed to even receive visitors and instead it is the first lady who will receive them.”

Their sentiments come at a time when some of the DGs are not seeing eye to eye with the governors over a myriad issues.

Frosty relationships

In Meru county for instance, impeached Governor Kawira Mwangaza and her deputy Mutuma Ethingia have a frosty relationship. In Siaya county, Deputy governor William Oduol and Governor James Orengo have not been seeing eye to eye to an extent that at one point, an impeachment motion against Oduol was filed in the senate but was thrown out by the senators.

In Trans Nzoia county, governor George Natembeya said he regretted picking Philomena Kapkory as his deputy, in Baringo, Governor Benjamin Cheboi and his deputy Felix Maiyo have clashed over the choice of nominees for chief officer positions while in In Kericho County, Governor Erick Mutai and his deputy Fred Kirui who won on a UDA ticket do not see eye to eye.

In Uasin Gishu, Deputy Governor John Barorot recently resigned in what many claimed stemmed from a poor working relationship with his boss although he said his decision is based on the fact that he had gotten a better offer.

And in the senate yesterday, Laikipia Deputy Governor and the Deputy Governors Caucus Chairperson r Reuben Ngatia told senators that some of the DGs are suffering but only chose to remain silent until the end of their terms in office in order to avoid conflict with Governors.

He claimed that in some counties, the DGs are never even given notices of cabinet meetings and are only sent such invitations a day before it is held.

He said: “During the General election we are elected jointly but when we come to office, we can no longer work together well despite the role we played to come to office, we have professionals in our caucus and top-notch experts who are ready to serve their country but not allowed to work,”

Trans Nzoia Deputy Governor Philomena Kapkory claimed that their efforts to have DG hold chair of some of the subcommittee meetings have not yielded any fruits as some counties County Secretaries are still performing the said functions.

She said: ““In most cases we are not involved in the coordination and supervision of various county departments and a budget assigned for these purposes where in some cases there is no funding, they seek to attend Summit and IBEC meetings in the absence of the Governors.”

Siaya Deputy Governor Oduol proposed that DGs should be in charge of disaster management and also be assigned other roles said that he has not been able to attend any cabinet meetings since the senate quashed his impeachment motion.

He said: “The elephant in the room is that we need to have budgets. This however has to be done in such a way that Governors do not feel threatened since they are not in competition but out to serve their residents.”

He said: “I think we need a recourse on what to do if for example a Deputy Governor does not attend cabinet meetings.”

Nyandarua Deputy Governor Mathara Mwangi said they want situations where they work and not enjoying privileges and staying idle yet they were elected to represent people.

Elgeyo Marakwet County Deputy Governor Grace Cheserek said the relationship between Governors and Deputy Governors is not a marriage where someone can bend to fit in but this is a government where they are supposed to offer services to their people.

Avoid begging

West Pokot Deputy Governor Robert Komolle said although there is a need for the functions of the DG to be clearly spelt out, he stressed on the need for them to have a budget with a ceiling to avoid begging for funds.

But on the other hand, three DGs including Francis Mwangangi (Machakos), Christine Saru (Taita Taveta) and Jennipher Mbatiany (Bungoma) said they have a cordial relationship with their bosses.

Mwangangi while insisting that his relationship with his boss Waviya Ndeti is cordial regretted that only about ten Deputy Governors are working well with their bosses.

He said: “In my county, I have a good working relationship with the governor. Even now when the governor is away, I am the one in charge.”

Saru said her Governor signed executive order which has assigned her the various roles that she is currently undertaking and thus their relationship is cordial.

She said: “In the previous administration and you know the speaker of the senate was the governor, the relationship between the former governor and his deputy was bad and that is why when my governor took over office the first thing was to sign an executive order that assigned me functions.”

Mbatiany said although she enjoys a cordial relationship with her boss, she said they want uniformity across board so that DG’s can operate well.