Clerk Of The County Assembly

Dr. Donald Keya Manyala is the 3rd Clerk at the County Assembly of Kakamega since inception of devolved system of governance in 2013.

Born in 1987, Mr. Keya, holds a Doctorate (PhD) degree in Governance and Leadership from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT), 2021, a Master Degree of Business Administration in Strategic Management (2010) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Tourism Management (2007) from United States International University (USIU). He sat for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2003 at Musingu School and attended Mukumu Boys Primary School.

With regards to experience, the newly appointed Clerk has served as the Chief Research Officer and Policy Analyst under the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya from September, 2022 until his appointment time. He has also served as the Director (Trustee) at the Parliamentary Service Commission’s Board of the Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (since October, 2019), Senior Research Officer and Policy Analyst at the Parliament of Kenya (2014 - 2017), Senior Research and Data Analyst at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from January, 2011 to December, 2013. More so, he served as a Research Data Analyst at the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIEBC) between September and December, 2010 and as a Research Officer (Monitoring and Evaluation) at the Outlink Marketing Consultants (May, 2008 to August, 2010).

He possess has a wide range of knowledge and skills in: Communication and Report writing; Policy Formulation, Analysis and Management, Research Writing, Curriculum Development and Content Standardization, Leadership and Governance, Parliamentary Practices and Procedure, Research and Data Analysis in Public Sector, Legislative and Policy Research for Parliamentary staff, Strategic Change Management, Monitoring & Evaluation Fundamentals, Results Based Leadership, Beyond Corporate Governance among many other areas.

The Clerk is a member and subscribes to two Professional Bodies namely: African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) and Professional Trainers Association of Kenya (PTAK).

He resides in Butsotso Central, Lurambi Sub-County and Kakamega County. Section 19 of the County Assembly Services Act outlines functions of the Clerk as per section 16 as Secretary to the Board, the Clerk shall be;

  • the chief administrative officer of the county assembly; and
  • responsible for the day-to-day management and functioning of the county assembly.

Section 20 further states procedural functions of the Clerk as;

  • the rendering of expert, non-partisan and impartial advice to the members of the county assembly on the legislative process, and parliamentary procedure and practice; and
  • the carrying out such other duties and exercising powers as may be conferred on him or her by law or by the Standing Orders and practices of the county assembly.