By Habil Onyango
Homa Bay Speaker Julius Gaya resigned on Tuesday as the Speaker of the Homa Bay County Assembly ahead of a planned impeachment motion against him.
Gaya, who served as the Assembly’s third speaker, tendered his resignation to the Acting Clerk of the Assembly, Hannington Abeka.
Presiding over Tuesday’s sitting, Deputy Speaker Samuel Okings Okomo confirmed that he had received Gaya’s resignation through the County Clerk and therefore declared the seat vacant.
“I am in receipt of the resignation letter from Hon. Julius Odhiambo Gaya, addressed to the Clerk, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No. 14a (1),” the Deputy Speaker notified the members.
“Gaya appreciates the opportunity given to him to serve this house as the third speaker, having been elected on 21 September 2022,” reads the letter.
“I hereby notify this house of the resignation pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No. 14a (3) and declare the office of the Speaker vacant,” said Okings.
Gaya served as the Central Karachuonyo MCA for two terms under the former County Governor, Cyprian Awiti, before being elected as Speaker.
Gaya dropped his third quest for the Central Karachuonyo MCA after supporting the election of the current Governor, Gladys Wanga, and was rewarded with the Speaker’s seat.
According to Majority Leader Richard Ogindo, out of the 54 County Assembly members, 53 had already signed the petition in support of Gaya’s impeachment motion.
He thanked the former Speaker for taking the bold and brave step before the impeachment motion could be tabled.
“On behalf of all members, I appreciate our former Speaker, Hon. Julius Gaya, for the brave move he undertook by handing in his resignation letter,” said Ogindo.
“Out of 54 members, only one member opposed the petition to remove him from office. By deciding to resign, he made the best decision before this house could proceed with the impeachment motion,” said the Majority Leader.
Gaya succeeded former Speaker Elizabeth See, who was elected after defeating his arch-rival, former Gwasi North MCA Evance Marieba, by garnering 40 out of the possible 54 votes.
In 2018, while serving as the Central Karachuonyo MCA, Gaya was barred from accessing the house by security guards over allegations of exposing corruption and misconduct at the County Assembly.
He stated that the action was intended to intimidate him due to his efforts to fight corruption and uphold human rights within the County Assembly.
Gaya was recently summoned by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, which is investigating his academic credentials. He has appeared before the commission on two occasions.
