Swearing-in of Busia speaker flops

Efforts to swear in the Busia district speaker Paul Oguttu as chairperson still hang in the balance as George Ouma Adea maintains that he is in charge. 

Adea who spent the entire day in his office going on with his usual business said any attempt by local government minister Tom Butime to remove him from office is illegal.

Butime last week directed that Adea vacates his office and that Oguttu and his deputy Betty Ajambo be sworn in to assume and perform duties of district chairperson and speaker in acting capacity respectively.

However Adea told New Vision that he was the lawful chairperson and that he is protected by the law until his appeal in the Court of Appeal has been disposed of.

The swearing in of Oguttu and Ajambo had by Monday afternoon not been conducted and was postponed to Tuesday due to the absence of the area chief magistrate Sarah Mponye.

The Chief Administrative Officer Walter Iriama and the district security chiefs led by Kennedy Otiti the Resident District Commissioner were locked in a meeting from morning to afternoon. 

Adea said basing on Butime's seniority and age, he should have known that the decision he took was violating his right to appeal.

Let me hope that he was misled in acting the way he did because the former district chairperson Stephen Wanyama Oundo fed him lies," Adea said.

He accused Wanyama of leading a delegation which met and influenced Butime to take the decision. 

Wanyama, Adea said was used to winning by-elections and he thinks this is the time for him to bounce back at the district headquarters.

The residents, he said are tired of by-elections and want service delivery because the district has lost a lot through infighting in the last term of office.

He warned that should the authorities carry on with the decision to swear in Oguttu, he would be left with no option but to seek legal redress noting that Iriama is better placed to save the district from footing the damages.