Mwangaza ouster: Senators reconvene for hearing

Senators will on Tuesday reconvene for the hearing of charges against embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi on Friday gazetted a Special Sitting of the House after receiving resolutions of the Meru County Assembly to remove the governor from office through impeachment.

The MPs had proceeded on the Christmas and New Year recess beginning December 1, 2022 and were to resume normal business on February 14, 2023.

However, following the impeachment of Ms Mwangaza last week, and the receipt of the resolutions communicated by Meru County Assembly Speaker Ayub Bundi, Speaker Kingi had to within seven days convene a meeting of the Senate.

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According to Section 33(3) of the County Government’s Act, a Special Sitting must be convened within seven days of the receipt of the resolutions.

Governor Mwangaza was impeached after just 112 days in office with all MCAs present at the assembly voting unanimously to have the first term governor removed from office.

She is accused of alleged gross misconduct, abuse of office and gross violation of the Constitution and county laws. Sixty-seven out of 69 MCAs voted to impeach the governor.

“I have appointed Tuesday, December 20, 2022 as a day for a special sitting of the Senate. The sitting shall be held in the Senate Chamber, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi, commencing at 2.30pm,” said Mr Kingi.

“The business to be transacted at the sitting shall be the hearing of the charges against Hon Kawira Mwangaza, the Governor of Meru County.”

Mr Kingi said the business specified in the gazette notice shall be the only business before the Senate during the Special Sitting, following which the Senate shall stand adjourned until Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

The Senate’s House Business Committee, by a determination, will be expected to meet in the morning of Tuesday to appoint a special committee comprising 11 of its members to look into the grounds of impeachment.

The 11-member special committee of the Senate should then investigate the matter and report to the Senate within 10 days whether it finds proof for the charges the accuser brought against the governor.

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The governor will be required to appear to answer to the charges levelled against her if the committee is set up but if the Senate decides to do it as a committee of the whole House, she will be tried by the whole Senate.

If the Senate committee finds the claims are unsubstantiated that will be the end of the proceedings.

But if the special committee finds proof, the Senate proceeds to vote on impeachment charges. The vote only takes place after the assurance that the governor receives a fair hearing.

If a majority of the county delegations in the Senate vote to uphold the impeachment charge, the governor ceases to hold office. If the delegations vote to reject the impeachment charge, the Senate speaker should notify the speaker of the respective county assembly.

Any member of the county assembly can only introduce the same charges before the assembly after three months from the day the Senate votes against the impeachment charges.

Governor Mwangaza has been at loggerheads with her ward representatives ever since taking over office after the August 9 polls.

The supremacy battles have raged to the point of Ms Mwangaza appealing to President William Ruto to intervene to restore peace.

Resolve the impasse

An attempt by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to resolve the impasse by summoning the MCAs for a meeting failed after various political parties opposed it.

The Independent governor is accused of appointing her husband as Meru Youth Service Patron and a non-existent position of hustlers’ ambassador without following the law.

She is also accused of appointing five unqualified persons to hold county offices without a transparent recruitment process, making roadside appointments of workers and appointing a committee to allocate taxi bays in Meru town against the law.

Ms Mwangaza is also on the spot for directing ward and sub county administrators to usurp the functions and mandate of the County Public Service Board.

Further, the motion cited illegal dismissal of four heads of county autonomous bodies before the end of their contract, falsely accusing MCAs of operating like a cartel, corruption, greed and blackmail as well as vilifying and bullying other leaders.

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