NAIROBI, Kenya – Nominated Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) may soon be subject to public recall, if proposed legal amendments currently under Senate review are adopted.
The Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, chaired by Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei, is pushing to amend the County Governments Act and relevant sections of the Political Parties Act to create a transparent, participatory recall mechanism for nominated MCAs — a process currently limited to their elected counterparts.
The proposal is in response to a petition filed by Laban Omusundi, a Nakuru resident and Executive Director of the Grassroots Civilian Oversight Initiative.
He told the Senate that the law unfairly shields nominated MCAs from accountability, even when they fail to represent the special interest groups they were appointed to serve, such as youth, women, or persons with disabilities.
“The law is biased and exclusionary,” said Omusundi, urging lawmakers to amend the County Governments Act, 2012.
Grounds for Recall, Clear Timelines Proposed
The Senate committee agreed, recommending legislative reforms to define valid grounds for recall, outline the institutions responsible for oversight, and introduce a clear threshold for initiating the process.
The goal, the committee says, is to strengthen public participation and promote equal accountability across all county lawmakers.
“A nominated MCA who fails to represent their designated interest group should be subject to recall, just like an elected MCA,” the committee’s report states.
The lawmakers are considering two legislative pathways:
- Amending the County Governments Act to introduce a formal recall process.
- Revising Section 9 and the Second Schedule of the Political Parties Act to allow political parties to recall nominated MCAs based on performance.
Either path, they say, must safeguard against abuse by ensuring fair procedures and timeframes, such as disallowing recalls within the first two years or final year of a term—mirroring provisions in Article 104 of the Constitution for Members of Parliament.
Equal Responsibility, Unequal Accountability
Currently, only elected MCAs can be recalled, under the Elections Act, through a public-led process involving signature collection, a court-validated petition, and a subsequent recall election.
The law requires the petition to come from a registered voter in the ward where the MCA was elected—excluding nominated members by design.
This legal gap, senators argue, is unjust because both elected and nominated MCAs perform the same legislative and oversight duties in county assemblies.
“The Act creates a disparity in measures of accountability without considering that both types of MCAs hold decision-making roles,” the committee noted.
Public Support Grows for Reform
During public participation, the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) endorsed the proposal, saying it aligns with constitutional values such as public accountability and transparency.
The KLRC also reminded the Senate that Article 104 of the Constitution already allows the recall of MPs and mandates Parliament to enact laws that govern such processes.
The Senate committee now wants these recall provisions extended to nominated MCAs to enhance fairness, improve public trust, and uphold Article 10 of the Constitution, which enshrines values of accountability, public participation, and good governance.
If passed, the amendments will be a significant step toward strengthening democratic checks and balances at the county level—ensuring all MCAs, whether elected or nominated, are held to equal standards of performance.
