After reportedly being locked out of cabinet meetings for more than a year, Meru Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia is on the verge of taking charge of the county.
The impeached governor, however, got court orders blocking her removal . Ms Mwangaza and Mr Mutuma took office on August 25, 2022, but their relationship quickly took a nosedive.
The Constitution does not envisage a leadership vacuum in the office of the governor. According to Article 182, once the governor is removed, the deputy assumes office for the remainder of the term.
Though little known, having kept a low profile even as Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) pushed for the removal of his boss, the latest development paves the way for Mr Mutuma to take over.
If the court does not stop the process, the 44-year-old will be the fourth governor of Meru, joining the small list of deputies who took office following the impeachment or death of their bosses.
An ordained Methodist Reverend and civil servant, Mr Mutuma joined politics in 2022 when Ms Mwangaza picked him as her running mate.
A former prisons officer and son of former Njuri Ncheke chairman Paul M’Ethingia, Mr Mutuma has a degree in theology from the Kenya Methodist University.
In the run-up to the August 2022 election, Ms Mwangaza said she picked him as running mate “after intense prayers and consultations”.
“I grew up in a humble family and went to Maua Primary school. After high school, I joined Kenya Prisons Service in 2002 and served for 19 years. I left as senior sergeant and social welfare officer,” he said in a past interview.
According to Mr Mutuma, the leadership role he played in church earned him scholarship to study theology, graduating in 2019.
“While working as a Methodist minister, I got spotted by Ms Mwangaza. She reached out to me in December 2020 and we agreed that I be her running mate,” he said.
The deputy governor says his experience as a correctional officer and the church made him acquire leadership and management skills.
“The governor is a bishop and I am a reverend. We bring the right leadership to Meru County. We have the morals. Corruption will not be entertained in Meru. As the Bible says, when the righteous rule, people rejoice,” he said in August 2022.
In August last year, Mr Mutuma went public about his fallout with Ms Mwangaza.
“It has been a year of suffering. My staff were dismissed and others withdrawn. I have been sidelined and kept in the dark on the operations of the Executive,” he said.
Mr Mutuma said he started getting red flags after his guests were barred from attending the inauguration day luncheon in 2022.
While appearing before the Senate Legal Affairs Committee, the deputy governor said he was being sabotaged and humiliated by junior staff in Ms Mwangaza’s office.
“I am no longer in invited to cabinet meetings. I am never facilitated while on official duties. I have had to fuel my official car,” he lamented.
His petition to the County assembly inspired the MCAs to create a separate vote in the budget for the office of the Deputy Governor, to the chagrin of Ms Mwangaza.
In the 2024/2024 budget, the MCAs deducted Sh29.9 million from the governor’s office for fund the deputy governor.
Ms Mwangaza’s second successful impeachment motion at the county assembly last year included mistreatment of her deputy.
So bitter has been the fallout between the two that in February this year, Mr Mutuma told the county assembly that he was being forced to resign.
“We are operating in a very hostile environment in the county executive. Things are escalating. The governor’s proxies have been sending threats and asking me to resign to earn a send-off package,” Mr Mutuma said.
Despite efforts by Njuri Ncheke elders and members of clergy to reconcile the two, there has been no ceasefire.
Two weeks ago, while appearing at a press conference, Ms Mwangaza said no leader had authority to reconcile her with the deputy.
“No one can purport to reconcile me with my deputy because I am the one who went looking for him. Just like I recommended my advisers for appointment, that’s how I got Mutuma as my deputy,” Ms Mwangaza said.
She said only her husband Murega Baichu had authority on the matter since he introduced the deputy governor to her.
“MPs and MCAs have no clue how I chose Mr Mutuma as my running mate. I used to introduce him to the public even at his home area because he was not known.” She said.
Mr Mutuma is now the man expected to steer Meru County after two tulmutous years under the leadership of Mwangaza.
In 2022, Mr Mutuma served as county health executive for a short period after the county assembly rejected majority of Mwangaza’s nominees to the county executive committee.
