Siaya: Okode Triumphs, Again, As Ogenga is Sworn-in as New Siaya Assembly Clerk

The long-standing feud between the Speaker of the Siaya County Assembly with the former Clerk, Felix Olwero is now over as this afternoon Eric Ogenga was sworn in as the new Siaya County Assembly Clerk.

Being a clerk to the County Assembly is an onerous task as one assumes overall supervision of the County Assembly staff. It is therefore next to impossible for the Speaker to work with a rogue Clerk.

It is the Clerk who ensures that capacity building and development of all staff is implemented.

The Clerk is the Secretary to the County Assembly Service Board (CASB). As the secretary, he is in charge of taking the Board’s minutes in all Board meetings and advises the board on matters relating to staff such as promotions, staff development and discipline and relevant training areas.

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But much more significantly the Clerk provides advisory services to the Speaker, Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and Board Members.

Bearing this in mind one sympathizes with the Speaker George Okode who must have had his antennas bristling wherever he had to put up with a rogue clerk.

Some two years ago, however, something happened that we are not being told between the Speaker and the acting clerk of the assembly. Suddenly the Speaker recalled that in 2015 Felix Olwero had misused his office by allocating himself a KES 5 million car loan without following laid down procedures.
The Okode-Olwero animosity thereafter heightened in intensity.  

Insiders whisper of Olwero siding with the Executive and therefore drawing the ire of his boss. As if to confirm this whispers an audio recording was leaked of the Speaker saying he will apply any means available to get rid of Olwero.

The courts used their jurisprudential yardstick to find Olwero innocent twice and reinstate him only for Okode to chest thump saying he would “sack” him even if he goes to see Raila Amollo Odinga and former Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo.

So the issue for the sacking of Olwero was not purely owing to corruption or any KES 5 million car loan. The issue went deeper than that.

As things roll now, George Okode has taken this round but it’s a long bout with some ten more rounds to go. So grab your popcorn and popcorn.

The Speaker managed to discipline his Deputy and now he has succeeded in getting rid of the clerk. What is he up to?
Watch this space……