Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has revoked the nomination of 57 councillors and appointed 64 others whose names were struck out by his predecessor, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Mudavadi, who is also the Local Government minister, appointed another 67 public officers and sacked 41 who had been appointed by Mr Kenyatta.

However, Adopt-A-Light Chief Executive Officer Esther Passaris, whose nomination by ODM was revoked by Mr Kenyatta, was also left out by Mr Mudavadi for the second time.

By-election

Still, the minister still insisted that Mr Kenyatta had erred in refusing to gazette her name.

“As you are aware, Ms Passaris had upgraded her interest and vied to become the MP for Embakasi in the by-election. She wrote to ODM on the withdrawal of her interest and I maintain that during Mr Kenyatta’s time a wrong was committed,” Mr Mudavadi said at a press conference in his Nairobi office on Tuesday.

However, his move could pose legal challenges for the Government because the courts have in the past declared previous revocations of councillors as illegal.

In one case, former Mombasa mayor Taib Ali Taib won a victory over the then Local Government minister, Mr Musikari Kombo, who had revoked Mr Taib’s nomination as a councillor.

The court ruled in Mr Taib’s favour.

In another case, former nominated councillor Otieno Karan also won after he challenged a decision to revoke his nomination.

The courts at the time ordered that councillors whose names had been revoked could resume their jobs.

On Tuesday, it emerged that those whose nominations were disputed but are now mayors and council chairpersons were spared the axe.

“It is not prudent to destabilise the councils by revoking the nomination of the affected councillors,” Mr Mudavadi said. Among those who benefited from this directive was Mombasa mayor Ahmed Modhar.

In such cases, the parties the councillors represented had to validate their nominations afresh. ODM reconsidered its position and endorsed Mr Modhar.

Notable names in the list of councillors who have lost their jobs include Hanningtone Wandera Awori, brother to former vice-president Moody Awori; and Hamisi Shamba, a former Harambee Stars footballer who was nominated as a councillor in Kisumu.

The controversial nominations sparked an uproar in Parliament earlier in the year and Mr Mudavadi then promised to degazette the excess councillors in two weeks.

However, he failed to fulfil the promise due to what sources at the ministry said was interference by political parties and MPs whose candidates benefited.

Mr Kenyatta nominated over 200 councillors, overlooking the one third rule which states that a minister should nominate a third of the councillors elected in every civic authority.

He later appointed over 100 public officers in the 175 councils. Of these, 41 were sacked by Mr Mudavadi.

The Local Government minister said his ministry had ensured that the nominations were regularised through the validation of the appointing political parties.

“For example the mayor of Mombasa has been validated through the Orange Democratic Movement which was the appointing political party,” he said in a statement.

He said he had invoked sections 26(2) and 28(2A) to effect the changes.

He also revealed that the ministry was in the process of amending the Local Government Act to ensure that there are no loopholes in the procedures for nomination of councillors.

Three civic leaders from the Nairobi City Council and three others from Nakuru County Council were among those who lost out.

However, PNU candidates who protested the removal of their names by Mr Kenyatta and went to court were re-appointed.

Nominations revoked

The Nairobi councillors whose nominations were revoked were Lee Muchiri, Badi Ali and Dishon Njoka Nyagah. Those removed from Nakuru were Jane Simita Munga, Simon Mararia Gathura and Daniel Wamwere Githinji.

Those who were re-appointed are Ms Rachel Wanjiku Kamweru, Wilfred Mangara Apencha and Jacob Haji Ali.

Two other councillors were nominated by ODM. They are Rose Adhiambo Ogona and Josephat J. Bukachi.

Eleven of the affected councillors were from Nyanza and Western provinces. Among the councils affected are Vihiga, Funyula, Migori, Gusii, Kisii, Ogembo, Keroka, Masimba and Nyamira.

Ten other councillors were appointed in Kisumu, Rachuonyo, Kehancha, Gusii, Gucha, Keroka and Nyamira.