Mwangaza: My impeachment was a sham
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza when she appeared before the Senate on January 28, 2025.
What you need to know:
- Governor Mwangaza's lawyers informed Justice Bahati Mwamuye that her impeachment was a sham and a mockery of justice.
- The judge was also told that the impeachment process at the Senate turned chaotic, with senators divided over the process.
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has urged a judge to reverse the decision to impeach her, claiming both the County Assembly and the Senate violated a Meru High Court order prohibiting the impeachment process that led to her removal.
Governor Mwangaza's lawyers, Elisha Ongoya and Elias Mutuma, informed Justice Bahati Mwamuye that her impeachment was a sham and a mockery of justice.
Mr Ongoya said the Senate's outcome violated a High Court order issued by the Meru High Court on July 24, 2024, stopping the ouster move.
"Mwangaza should not have been impeached by the County Assembly and the Senate, given the existence of a court order halting any impeachment process," Mr Ongoya told Justice Mwamuye.
The lawyers stated that, as a result of the contempt of court, senior Meru County Assembly officials were last week found guilty of contempt and slapped with hefty fines.
Failure to pay the fines would result in imprisonment for six months.
Referring to the decision of Justice Edward Murithii of the Meru High Court, Mr Ongoya told Justice Mwamuye that the Speaker of the County Assembly of Meru, Ayub Bundi Solomon, the Clerk of Meru County Assembly, Jacob Kirari, and Zipporah Kinya, a Nominated Member of the County Assembly and Deputy Leader of the Majority who moved the impeachment motion despite the existing court order, have been jailed for six months.
As a consequence, Justice Murithii fined the three contemnors Sh100,000 each or six months' imprisonment for disobeying the court order issued on July 24, 2024, by Justice P. Kassan barring any discussion on Mwangaza’s removal.
Mr Ongoya told Justice Mwamuye that, in a bid to defeat justice, the MCAs, through Kinya, withdrew the earlier motion prohibited by the court and introduced a fresh one, which resulted in the ouster of Ms Mwangaza, who was elected by a majority vote in the 2022 general elections, defeating former Governor Kiraitu Murungi and former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.
The lawyer told the judge that the entire motion and removal were callous and an exercise in futility, given that the country is governed by the Constitution and the law, which must be observed by all.
Further, Mr Ongoya said the findings by the MCAs were forwarded to the Senate for authentication despite being flawed and against the law.
"In the glaring existence of the court order, the entire process of impeaching Mwangaza is wanting and a nullity in law," said Mr Ongoya.
The judge heard that senators, under the leadership of accomplished lawyer Amason Kingi, who is the Speaker of the Senate, shut their eyes to the court order barring the impeachment and proceeded to transact and arrive at an impugned decision.
Mr Ongoya tendered evidence showing that they had brought the existence of the Meru High Court order suspending the exercise to the Senate’s attention.
The judge was also told that the impeachment process at the Senate turned chaotic, with senators divided over the process.
To prove the process was unfair, Ms Mwangaza presented three videos showing the chaotic situation at the Senate.
However, an attempt to play the videos in open court was vehemently opposed by Mr Kingi and the senators’ lawyers, who argued that they were not authentic as they lacked a certificate from the author and maker.
Justice Mwamuye declined to have the videos played in open court but said he would view them privately before rendering his judgment on March 14, 2025.
Ms Mwangaza further faulted Mr Kingi for preparing a gazette notice a day before the senators discussed her conduct and voted her out.
"Your Lordship, Kingi had, on August 20, 2024, prepared a communication and sent it to the Speaker of the Meru County Assembly and to the Government Press, indicating that the Senate had impeached Mwangaza a day before the last vote to seal her fate," Mr Ongoya said.
The judge heard that the decision to remove Mwangaza was predetermined and a mockery of justice.
Justice Mwamuye dismissed attempts by Mwangaza to present unauthenticated social media postings from various senators, including Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu, regarding the unfair manner in which the Senate handled the impeachment.
On the other hand, Mr Kingi and the senators defended the decision to impeach Mwangaza, saying they acted within the confines of the law.
They urged the judge not to disturb their decision to impeach Ms Mwangaza, saying it was justified.