Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has officially hit the “reset button” on his administration.
The political landscape in Bungoma County has been rocked by a dramatic executive purge that has left the local government in a total state of flux. In an unprecedented move that caught both allies and enemies off guard, Governor Ken Lusaka has sacked every single member of his County Executive Committee (CEC), along with the County Attorney and the County Secretary. The order, which took effect immediately, effectively clears out the top floor of the county’s leadership, leaving many to wonder who is currently steering the ship in Western Kenya.
This “midnight axe” wasn’t just a random act of administrative restructuring; it was a high-stakes counter-punch. The mass firing comes directly on the heels of a rebellion in the County Assembly, where MCAs had just tabled a heavy-hitting impeachment motion against the same top officials. By pulling the trigger first, Governor Lusaka has utilized a clever psychological tactic: he has disarmed his opponents by removing the targets. It is impossible to impeach an official who no longer holds an office, effectively shifting the power dynamic back into the Governor’s hands.
However, the cost of this political survival move is a significant governance vacuum. With all ten ministers (CECs) gone, the vital departments that handle everything from healthcare and agriculture to infrastructure are currently without executive leadership. For the common resident of Bungoma, this means a likely standstill in service delivery. Without a County Secretary to oversee the public service or a County Attorney to provide legal guidance, the administration is operating on a skeletal framework while the Governor prepares his next list of nominees.
As the dust settles, the focus now shifts to the County Assembly. Governor Lusaka will eventually have to submit a new list of names for vetting, and the same MCAs who were pushing for impeachment will be the ones sitting in the interviewer’s chairs. This sets the stage for a massive showdown in the coming weeks. Whether this move was a genuine attempt to “clean house” or a desperate attempt to stay afloat remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Bungoma’s political war is just getting started.
