NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 29 – Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi has been removed as chairperson of the Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee after members unanimously passed a vote of no confidence against him, citing dissatisfaction with his leadership.The decision, made during a committee meeting on Wednesday, came a day after the Senate Business Committee reshuffled the panel’s membership, dropping both Osotsi and the committee’s vice chairperson, Homa Bay Senator Eddy Oketch.Members accused Osotsi of running the influential watchdog committee without consulting colleagues and making unilateral decisions on its affairs.Nominated Senator Raphael Chimera, who moved the motion, dismissed claims that the ouster was politically motivated, saying members had lost confidence in Osotsi’s leadership style.“As members of the committee, we felt we needed to address the conduct and the way the chairperson had been running the affairs of the committee. There is nothing much about politics. It was an opportunity for the committee to put its house in order,” Chimera said.He accused the Vihiga senator of treating the committee as his personal office instead of a collective oversight body.“The senator has been running this committee like personal property. On many occasions, he failed to consult the membership on decisions affecting the committee. You would wake up to meetings having been postponed without prior consultation,” Chimera said.“It was always his way or the highway. Members felt there was no sense of collective responsibility. We need a team player who listens to all members so that the committee can move together.”Chimera said the committee’s oversight mandate requires teamwork and consensus, arguing that members had resolved a change in leadership was necessary to improve its operations.“This is an oversight committee that needs a lot of teamwork and collective responsibility. Members felt they had had enough and wanted another chairperson who would collectively steer the committee,” he said.According to Chimera, the committee followed the Senate Standing Orders governing the removal of committee leadership. He said Osotsi had been invited to appear before members to respond to the allegations but failed to attend the meeting.“Before moving the motion, I confirmed that he was not willing to appear before the committee. We wanted to observe the rules of natural justice, but after he declined to attend, we proceeded in his absence,” he said.The committee is now expected to elect a new chairperson and vice chairperson within seven days, in line with the Senate Standing Orders. Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma, who joined the committee following Tuesday’s reshuffle, is widely expected to succeed Osotsi as chairperson.Osotsi, however, dismissed the move as politically orchestrated, insisting his removal had nothing to do with his performance.“My removal is political. We all know that. They are persecuting other leaders and me for rejecting the broad-based government,” he said.He further alleged that the process was orchestrated by President William Ruto and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga and executed through Senate Minority Whip Ledama Olekina and Senator Eddy Oketch.“This is a political witch-hunt engineered by Oburu Odinga and William Ruto and implemented through Ledama and Eddy Oketch,” Osotsi claimed.The senator defended his record, saying the committee had registered significant achievements during his nearly four-year tenure.“This committee has handled several reports, management of special funds as well as hospitals, amongst others,” he said.Wednesday’s vote marks the latest setback for Osotsi, one of the opposition lawmakers who has consistently criticised the broad-based arrangement between President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.The Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee is one of the House’s key oversight committees. It examines audit reports relating to county corporations, investment entities and special funds, and is responsible for scrutinising the management of public resources by county governments and their agencies.