Will Kawira be third time lucky at the Senate?
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza. She faces the Senate over her county assembly impeachment.
What you need to know:
- The governor is facing accusations of gross violation of the Constitution, gross violation of the national and county laws, and abuse of office.
- Seventeen MCAs had defended the governor, questioning the legitimacy of the impeachment process.
Embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza will know her fate next week when the Senate will vote to decide on her impeachment trial.
This follows her impeachment by the county assembly two weeks ago. Ms Kawira’s third impeachment has sparked a fierce debate, with friend and foe divided over whether the charges against her are deserved.
Political pundits are keenly watching to see if the first-term governor will triumph over the members of the county assembly (MCAs) as she did in the two previous attempts.
In a motion moved by nominated MCA Zipporah Kinya, the governor is facing accusations of gross violation of the Constitution, gross violation of the national and county laws and abuse of office.
The charges are equivalent to the ones she faced on previous occasions dismissed by the Senate.
Seventeen MCAs, including Kibirichia MCA Jacob Mwirigi, Joshua Mithiaru (Naathu), Ruth Kananu, and Kennedy Maingi (nominated), defended the governor, questioning the legitimacy of the impeachment process.
Mr Mwirigi said none of the counts could hold water and criticised the public participation process as inadequate. “There was no qualitative and quantitative public participation. It is ridiculous,” he said.
On Wednesday, senators resolved to hear Kawira’s impeachment motion through the plenary after they rejected the formation of a special committee to determine the fate of the troubled county boss.
Senate Minority Whip Ledama ole Kina (Narok) opposed the motion, saying the matter should be heard in the plenary as the entire country would like to observe justice for the people of Meru to clear the misconceptions out there that the house was compromised.
His Tana River counterpart Danson Mungatana said the plenary should listen to the matter since it is crucial and they cannot afford to let it go to a committee. He noted a similar motion to impeach a Cabinet Secretary in the National Assembly went against the mood of the House in a committee.
Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda said a committee of 11 will not be fair to the governor as the majority of them voted for her impeachment in the previous proceedings and that it would only be fair that the plenary give the people of Meru justice.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi said following the decision by the Senate, the county assembly and the governor had until Saturday (today) evening to file their responses to the office of the Clerk of the Senate.
He added that all the 67 senators are supposed to have the necessary documents by Sunday. The special sittings will be on Monday and Tuesday next week.
This marks the third time the assembly has successfully impeached Mwangaza, following two previous attempts that were halted by the High Court in Meru.
Kawira was first impeached on December 14, 2022, becoming the first county leader to face such an action barely three months after taking office. All 67 MCAs present at the session voted to remove her over claims of abuse of office.
However, the governor would have the last laugh after an 11-member special committee later found the charges unsubstantiated, sparing her from removal from office.
The governor faced a second impeachment attempt on October 25, 2023, with 59 out 69 MCAs voting for her ouster. This motion, brought by MCA Evans Mawira, accused Governor Mwangaza of grossly violating the Constitution and the County Government Act, citing misuse of public resources and mismanagement.
She, however, survived after the majority of the 47 elected senators voted to save her. Nominated senators were not allowed to participate in the vote. Last year, the frosty relationship between the governor and the MCAs manifested itself in October after they walked out of the assembly before she gave her official address.
Ms Kawira has been at loggerheads with the MCAs and her deputy Isaac Mutuma over allegations of sidelining them while running county affairs.
She had cut off all informal links with ward representatives, demanding that they write a formal letter requesting a ward development fund and explaining how it should be implemented within the law.
The MCAs, in return, said they were willing to have a sit-down with the governor but on two conditions: One that the governor issues a public apology on claims that they had demanded a Sh5 million bribe to approve Executive committee nominees and that some had demanded jobs for their girlfriends.
The MCAs also demanded that the local MPs be involved in brokering the truce.
