As Meru Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma takes oath of office as governor on Monday March 17, his former boss Kawira Mwangaza marks two and half years of a tumultuous reign that has seen her open war on virtually every politician in Meru County.
Whenever Ms Mwangaza addressed her supporters amid the political turmoil, she was clear that her primary task was protecting the public purse from gluttonous individuals.
In her assessment, her troubles were birthed and fueled by corrupt and selfish individuals keen on gaining entry to plunder Meru’s Sh12 billion annual budget.
“I will not use public resources to fill up the stomachs of a few people. I will ensure the county funds are prudently spent. I cannot cede the county government to the cartel but will defend the interests of the people,” Ms Mwangaza said in September 2023.
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She has also compared her troubles to Jesus’s Calvary experience where the masses demanded his crucifixion despite being innocent.
“The people of Meru elected me to protect their public resources and safeguard their interests. When I took oath of office, I vowed to defend the people, and this has been my stand. Why are 200 men fighting me?”
“They have not given me rest for two years. I am facing more than 70 court cases yet my work is more than the two previous administrations,” Ms Mwangaza said on Tuesday, February 12, 2025 ahead the Friday court ruling that sent her packing.
According to Mwangaza, the first governor Peter Munya and his successor Kiraitu Murungi cannot match her work in two years under immense conflict.
“If they gave me peace, I could have done a lot,” she says.
In her view, the tribulations she endured was an onslaught on women leadership having beaten odds to emerge governor amid a battle of political bigwigs in 2022.
Having vied as an independent candidate, Ms Mwangaza was truly independent and did not form alliances with any politician.
While all Meru political leaders, except former Governor Murungi, pledged to support her after the historic win, Ms Mwangaza appears to have failed in sustaining political friendships.
Impeached Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza converses with her husband Murega Baichu at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on March 14, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
All was well for the first two months of the administration when she met the 47 elected MCAs to put together their development priorities.
A bonding session between the MCAs and the governor in Mombasa was the beginning of the end of their working relationship. Mwangaza is accused of ignoring the ward representatives at the coastal retreat.
Senator Kathuri Murungi and former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi were the first to be flagged by the governor on accusations of demanding a share of the government.
The political volcano that was boiling from within exploded on October 19, 2022 when MCAs walked out on Ms Mwangaza during her inaugural county assembly address.
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They accused the governor of refusing to meet them and being disrespectful during public gatherings.
"The MCAs have agreed that they are not ready to listen to the governor during the address set for today afternoon. The MCAs wanted to agree on the ward fund and how it will work. They also want to be respected during public meetings," Assembly Speaker Ayub Bundi said.
The bone of contention was implementation of the ward fund, which Ms Mwangaza had pledged Sh100 million per ward in her manifesto.
True to their word, all MCAs walked out when Ms Mwangaza started reading her speech, leading to chaos at the county assembly.
Before her appearance in the assembly, the governor had told a local radio station that she did not have time for boardroom meetings with MCAs.
“I will not sit in the office to listen to MCAs because I have to be with the people who voted for me," she said.
A strained relationship with the legislative house marked one of many wrong starts by Ms Mwangaza, who appeared to thrive in the chaos.
"We have not established any working relationship with the governor because she does not pick my calls of the house leadership," the then majority leader Evans Mawira, who tabled the second impeachment motion, said.
Kawira Mwangaza (center) with her husband Murega Baichu (left) at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on December 18, 2024 when the High Court extended orders suspending her impeachment.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The chaotic assembly address that was marred by stone throwing marked the beginning of a political battle that culminated with Friday’s Judgement that sealed Mwangaza’s fate, at least for now.
Instead of pacifying the angry MCAs, Mwangaza went full throttle accusing them of demanding a Sh5 million bribe to approve her executive committee nominees.
To seal the fallout, a WhatsApp Group comprising MCAs and Ms Mwangaza was disbanded, cutting off their only communication channel.
Facing immense political pressure, the former governor coined a slogan ‘Kabati kabati, kaende kaende’ signifying her undeterred speed and focus.
“Let everyone stick to their lane as per the law. My development speed is 1000 kilometres per hour and if they can’t match that, we can meet in 2027,” Mwangaza said.
The fallout with MCAs sucked in MPs, elders and the clergy as mediation efforts flopped culminating in the first impeachment motion.
But before her first impeachment, the third Meru governor had fallen out with Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi, her staunch supporter.
On November 22, 2022, barely 90 days after she took oath of office, Minority whip Dennis Kiogora tabled the first notice of motion for impeachment of the governor.
However, the process was abandoned after the high court barred the County Assembly from debating the impeachment motion.
An attempt by the governor to reconcile with the 69 MCAs after the court reprieve did not bear fruits.
“The governor has been trying to reach out for a truce but our differences are irreconcilable. Therefore, we have no room for dialogue,” an MCA said.
Undeterred, another impeachment proceeding kicked off on December 6 with the governor facing accusations of nepotism, illegal appointments, unlawful dismissal of staff, usurpation of constitutional and statutory functions, incitement, bullying, and vilification of leaders.
On December 14, 2022, 67 MCAs voted to impeach Mwangaza before she was saved by the Senate.
This was followed by a brief truce after the governor and the MCAs mend fences in February 2023 vowing to work together.
"The MCAs have now agreed that Mwangaza is the political leader of Meru. They will work with the governor to deliver development to the people. The differences have been put aside," Speaker Bundi announced after a closed door meeting.
Kawira Mwangaza at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on December 18, 2024, when the High Court extended orders suspending her impeachment.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
By May 2023, the political marriage between Mwangaza and the MCAs had developed cracks and in September, political parties were whipping MCAs in readiness for another impeachment process.
Meanwhile, another internal conflict was boiling between Mwangaza and her deputy Isaac Mutuma.
When Mutuma went public about his fallout with the county boss in August 2023, he said trouble started on inauguration day, when his guests were blocked from attending the governor’s luncheon.
“It has been one year of suffering under the governor. My staff were fired and others withdrawn,” Mutuma revealed.
In October 2023, Majority leader Evans Mawira tabled the third notice of impeachment citing Mwangaza for misappropriation and misuse of county resources, nepotism and unethical acts, vilification and demeaning of other leaders, illegal appointments and usurpation of statutory powers.
Others were contempt of court, illegal naming of a public road after the husband and contempt of the assembly.
While the former governor sought to reconcile with the MCAs, some joined her camp while the majority sustained their onslaught.
“We will impeach the governor again. Going forward, we will stick to our constitutional mandate. We are not ready to live with incompetence," Minority Leader Mwenda Ithili vowed after she survived the second ouster.
In July last year, deputy majority leader Zipporah Kinya tabled the fourth notice of impeachment against Mwangaza.
The charges were illegally revoking the appointment of the County Public Service Board Secretary Virginia Kagwiria, failing to appoint various autonomous board Chairpersons, and failure to implement or report back on resolutions of the County Assembly.
Others were irregularly and illegally dismissing her Legal adviser, illegally dismissing several Board executives, and appointing a county attorney without vetting by the County Assembly.
However, this motion was stopped by the high court in Meru before Ms Kinya tabled the fifth motion on July 31.
Despite a spirited fight by Mwangaza and her legal team, the Senate upheld her removal from office on August 20 last year.
