ADVERT 
ADVERTGovernor James Orengo has suffered yet another political and administrative setback after the Siaya County Assembly’s Appointments Committee rejected the re-nomination of several County Executive Committee (CEC) members, declaring that the repeat appointments violated the law governing public appointments.
The ruling, delivered by the committee chaired by Speaker George Okode, marks a significant obstacle for the governor’s efforts to fully constitute his Cabinet and could further delay service delivery in key county departments.
The committee found that the nominees had previously been rejected by the County Assembly and that the governor, as the appointing authority, failed to demonstrate that the circumstances which led to their earlier rejection had changed, as required by law.
During the vetting session, Speaker Okode emphasized that the committee’s concerns were not directed at the nominees but at the appointing authority, arguing that the legal burden rests squarely on the governor.
“We are alive to the fact that the obligations in the Act are bestowed on the appointing authority and not you,” Okode told the nominees.
ADVERTHe cited Section 10 of the County Assembly Approval Act, 2017, which requires an appointing authority to submit a different nominee once a candidate has been rejected by the Assembly.
The law only permits the resubmission of a previously rejected nominee if the reasons for the earlier rejection no longer exist.
According to Okode, the Assembly was never furnished with evidence showing that those circumstances had changed.
The Speaker said the committee expected the governor’s office to provide a detailed legal and factual justification for reintroducing the nominees instead of leaving them to defend the appointments themselves.
“It is not your burden. It is the burden of the appointing authority,” Okode told the nominees, adding that the committee would have preferred explanations directly from the governor’s office.
One nominee attempted to demonstrate that his professional circumstances had changed, explaining that he had transitioned from teaching into the banking sector and was in the process of obtaining employment records from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
However, the committee maintained that such explanations could not substitute the legal obligation placed on the appointing authority.
After deliberations, the committee ruled that the repeat nominations failed to satisfy the legal threshold established under the County Assembly Approval Act and consequently rejected them.
The decision represents another chapter in the often-contentious relationship between Governor Orengo’s administration and the County Assembly over executive appointments.
The rejection is likely to prolong vacancies in critical county departments and could slow the implementation of development programmes at a time when residents expect improved service delivery.
It also underscores the growing insistence by county assemblies across Kenya on strict compliance with statutory appointment procedures, reinforcing legislative oversight over county executives.
For Governor Orengo, the ruling means he may now have to either demonstrate that the legal grounds for the previous rejections have ceased to exist or submit entirely new nominees for Assembly approval.
As the standoff continues, attention now shifts to whether the governor will challenge the committee’s interpretation of the law or move swiftly to nominate fresh candidates in order to unlock the county’s executive appointments and restore stability in his administration.
