The political career of first-term Kericho Governor Erick Mutai hangs in the balance as the Senate prepares to uphold or throw out his impeachment by members of the County Assembly.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has set Monday, October 14 and Tuesday, October 15 for the impeachment hearing in plenary after a failed attempt to form a select committee of 11 senators to hear the charges against the governor.
Dr Mutai was impeached on October 2 by 31 out of 47 members of the Kericho County Assembly following a motion moved by Sigowet County Assembly member Kiprotich Rogony as 16 MCAs who supported the governor boycotted the session.
Governor Mutai is facing charges of gross violation of the Constitution of 2010 and other laws, abuse of office, flouting the Leadership and Integrity Act, violation of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, misappropriation of public funds, illegal withdrawal of county revenue and engaging in indecent sexual acts.
Perhaps the worst allegation against the governor is that of alleged indecent and unnatural sexual behaviour, the proof of which the public is waiting to see in the Senate as it was not presented in the county assembly.
He is accused of forcing a woman to have sexual intercourse without her consent and without protection. The victim is said to have given evidence to the Assembly which will be presented to the Senate.
"The Governor's conduct was scandalous and embarrassing to the high office of the County Governor, an office held in public trust and whose authority should be exercised in a manner consistent with the object and purpose of the Constitution," said Mr Rogony.
Dr Mutai is also accused of publicly insulting and humiliating one Mr Marua in Londiani and threatening to use a police officer attached to him to unleash terror on the victim on March 4, 2024.
He is alleged to have publicly disparaged, humiliated, denigrated and abused Kapkatet County Assembly Member Amos Birir, describing him as "mentally blind and stupid" at an event on August 23, 2023.
The governor is accused of persistently using abusive and unbecoming language in public, and of persistently intimidating, harassing and molesting county officials.
Despite obtaining two separate court orders - one restraining Mr Rogony from tabling the motion and the county assembly from hearing or considering it, and another restraining the speaker of the assembly, Patrick Mutai, from transmitting the resolutions to the Senate - the orders were ignored.
Dr Mutai did not appear at the Assembly to defend himself on the basis of the court orders he sought and obtained, but chose to send his lead lawyers - Katwa Kigen and Manase Tunen - who told the House that the orders had been duly served on the Assembly.
He is accused of failing to automate the revenue collection systems despite the fact that a tender for the supply of the system was issued on December 14, 2023.
The governor is also accused of failing to implement a new valuation roll passed by the county assembly in 2016 and presiding over a broken Public Finance Management System (PFMS), rendering the county treasury ineffective in contravention of the PFM Act.
"Dr Mutai has exhibited an opulent lifestyle since his election to office with his wealth growing exponentially to the extent that he can donate Sh1 million in a single fundraising event," Mr Rogony alleged in the impeachment papers.
"There is a link between the disappearance and loss of county revenue and the governor's opulent lifestyle since he was elected two years ago," Mr Rogony alleged.
The former university lecturer is accused of implementing the Equalizer Mtaani Initiative and using it to withdraw funds from the county treasury without public participation or prior approval from the county assembly as required by law.
"He has coerced members of the County Executive Committee (county cabinet ministers) to allocate money for his (the governor's) own use, which is channeled through his Personal Assistants (PAs)." Mr Rogony alleged in documents now before the Senate.
Among the allegations against the governor are irregular award of tenders to certain contractors at inflated rates, illegal appointment and transfer of senior county staff.
He is also accused of misusing the county's contingency fund, which resulted in the devolved entity losing Sh9 million to cover up the alleged theft of Sh14.3 million raised by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for the 77 Londiani accident victims on July 4, 2023.
"On August 15, 2023, the Governor compensated the Londiani accident victims from the County Emergency Fund to cover up the funds raised from the public and misappropriated by a committee he had formed to manage the fundraising exercise, and without a convincing explanation of how the funds raised from the public for the victims were spent," Mr Rogony said.
Former county secretary Dr Wesley Bor chaired the fund disbursement committee for the victims of the June 30 accident at Londiai junction on the Nakuru-Kericho highway.
Dr Bor resigned recently with an impeachment hanging around his neck over the allocation of the funds raised by Mr Gachagua.
Dr Mutai is fighting allegations that he has failed to implement resolutions passed by the county assembly following an investigation into the alleged theft of money meant for accident victims. The assembly had ordered the dismissal of Dr Bor and other officials implicated in the alleged fraud.
His administration is accused of advertising the positions of Early Childhood Education Development (ECED) teachers and doctors, knowing that the county had no capacity to employ the officials.
The appointment of the now High Court Judge Alice Bett as the County Attorney despite the fact there was a substantive officer holder – Mr Gideon Mutai – also features in the impeachment.
The high court overturned the appointment and directed the Governor to personally pay Sh 2 million as costs of the suit.
Still, the Governor has been accused of leading members of the public, two days after being sworn into office, to bring down a fence in a piece of land in Kericho town belonging to an individual – Joseah Kiplangat Kogo - and turn it into a dump site.
The High Court has directed the county to return the land to the owner and restore it, but the Governor has allegedly used the local security officers to frustrate the implementation of the judicial orders.
Further, Dr Mutai was accused of subversion, discrediting and impeding the oversight role of the county assembly.
The Governor allegedly wrote to the Speaker of the County Assembly Patrick Mutai on September 3, 2024, and gave specific timelines on the questioning of County Chief Officers by the assembly while exercising their oversight role.
Since the impeachment process began, Dr Mutai has stayed out of the public limelight, a departure from the past when he appeared at local events in villages across the county and at major events attended by MPs and other leaders.
Dr Mutai recently asked for forgiveness from the MCAs and the people of Kericho for any wrongs he may have committed against them in the course of discharging his duties, saying leadership is God-given and leaders are prone to making mistakes.
“As leaders, we carry a heavy cross full of nails. Along the way, we are bound to stumble. I may have made those stumbles, and for that, I ask for your forgiveness” Dr Mutai said.
“If you must correct me, do so, but do not impeach me. Do not strike me down like a snake” He implored the MCAs and residents during the funeral of former Kipchimchim MCA Robert Benard Kipkorir Mutai on September 25, 2024.
Dr Mutai is the first Governor in President William Ruto’s backyard to face impeachment proceedings since the August 9, 2022 general election.
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza's tenure is hanging by a thread after the MCAs impeached her and the Senate upheld the charges against her, siding with the county legislators to remove her from office.
However, she has since moved to court to challenge the impeachment process with the matter yet to be heard and determined.
Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo recently survived an impeachment process at the county assembly when the MCAs went for his neck for the second time in a year.
Mr Nyaribo survived the impeachment on September 17, 2024, by one vote when 22 MCAs backed the move against a threshold of 23 legislators for it to sail through.
The fight between MCAs and Governors has been witnessed in the last 11 years of devolution in the country and is often spurred by external and internal political contests.
There have been calls to raise the bar for the impeachment of governors in the country to ensure that it is not frivolous as it has been in the past.
