An attempt to impeach Nairobi County Assembly Planning Committee Chairperson Alvin Palapala collapsed on Friday after the mover of the motion failed to appear before the committee to prosecute the case.
The impeachment motion, which had been tabled by Uthiru Ward MCA Peter Maina, popularly known as Osama, was abandoned after he failed to attend the committee session convened to substantiate the allegations against Palapala.
The proceedings were chaired by interim Committee Chairperson and Pumwani Ward MCA Paul Ndungu, who noted that Maina was absent from both the committee room and the Assembly precincts when he was called upon to present his case.
“When it was time for the mover to prosecute the motion, Hon. Peter Maina was conspicuously absent from both the committee room and the Assembly precincts,” Ndungu said.
In an effort to proceed with the matter, Ndungu directed the Assembly’s sergeants-at-arms to locate the Uthiru Ward legislator and bring him before the committee.
“Sergeants, you have three minutes to find Hon. Peter Maina and bring him here so that he can proceed and substantiate these allegations before members vote,” he instructed.
However, after a brief search, the sergeants-at-arms reported that Maina could not be found within the Assembly premises.
Following the report, Ndungu declared the impeachment motion dead, citing the mover’s failure to prosecute it.
“We consider the motion dead because the mover did not show up. I further invoke Standing Order No. 57, which will now require such a motion to receive the Speaker’s approval before it can be published again on the Order Paper,” he ruled.
Under Standing Order No. 57 of the Nairobi County Assembly, a motion that lapses under such circumstances cannot be reintroduced without the express approval of the Speaker.
The ruling means Palapala will continue serving as Chairperson of the Nairobi County Assembly Planning Committee unless a fresh impeachment motion is admitted and approved for debate in accordance with the Assembly’s Standing Orders.
