Kericho County Governor Erick Mutai before the Senate Nairobi on Monday, October 14, 2024 during the hearing of his impeachment.
Political rift within Kenya Kwanza and Azimio outfits helped besieged Kericho Governor Erick Mutai survive an imminent ouster even before the impeachment trial could begin in the Senate.
Although the governor will point to a technicality as his saving grace, the voting on whether to determine whether the two-thirds threshold needed to impeach a governor was met by the MCAs could have swung either way.
This is after 34 against 10 senators voted on Monday to terminate the impeachment trial on the basis of Kericho County Assembly having failed to meet the threshold by a single MCA.
However, it is not lost to the public that many impeachment trials have been swayed by party positions before but Dr Mutai’s case crossed party Rubicon.
With no party position and political interference, senators voted independently and across the political divide taking advantage of the confusion within political outfits in the country.
Currently, there is a raging political divisions within President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition with two factions emerging amid deepening political tension between the President and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
The development has seen the ruling party read from different scripts lately when it comes to several issues.
The same scenario has also bedeviled the opposition with Azimio split over the decision by Mr Odinga’s ODM to lean towards the broad-based government leaving Wiper, Jubilee, DAP-Kenya and Narc Kenya pulling in different directions.
It is the deep division within the rank and file of the political outfits that made the Senate to overwhelmingly vote to save Governor Mutai.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Mwenda Gataya told the Nation that there was no party position or any whipping of members during the crucial voting to either proceed with or terminate the impeachment trial.
He argued that senators debated freely and took a position concerning the contentious issue of whether the threshold was 31 or 32 MCAs.
“There was no whipping or party position. We debated and voted freely and the process died because of a legal technicality of the motion from the assembly failing to reach the required threshold,” said Mr Gataya.
Kirinyaga Senator James Murango added that there was no party position and in any case, they would not have followed any as such positions don’t work well in the Senate.
He said the assembly goofed on the numbers although they had strong impeachment grounds against Dr Mutai.
“There was no government position and no one could have given us any, anyway. Party positions are not popular in the Senate as we sit as a trial chamber. We did not want to waste time on something that will later be thrown out by the courts,” said Mr Murango.
Nairobi Senator and deputy minority whip Edwin Sifuna echoed the sentiments of his counterpart, adding that even the voting pattern within Azimio reflected a lack of political interference.
“The voting pattern even on our side was split as we took different positions. I think politics would have played a part during the full hearing,” said the Nairobi senator.
The voting pattern reflected the assertions as Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot voted for the trial to continue while his deputy Tabitha Karanja (Nakuru) voted against it.
The Kericho senator only received support from his Nandi counterpart Samson Cherargei while all other UDA or Kenya Kwanza senators voted otherwise.
Both Kenya Kwanza Whips, Boni Khalwale (Kakamega) and his deputy Steve Lelegwe (Samburu) voted for the termination of the proceedings.
On the Azimio side, Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo (Kilifi) voted for the trial to continue together with his deputy Enoch Wambua (Kitui).
The same position was taken by minority whip Ledama Olekina but his deputy, Senator Sifuna, went the other way.
Five other ODM senators including Boy Issa Juma (Kwale), Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira), Mohamed Faki (Mombasa), Dr Oburu Oginga (Siaya) and Tom Ojienda (Kisumu) voted for the termination of the proceedings.
On the other hand, four ODM deputy party leader Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), Eddy Oketch (Migori), Moses Kajwang’ (Homa Bay), and Johnes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta) voted with Senator Sifuna. Azimio-leaning Okoiti Omtatah (Busia) voted along the same line.
Apart from senators Cheruiyot and Cherargei, other government-leaning senators voted for the termination of the trial.
United Democratic Movement senators Mohamed Abass (Wajir) and Ali Roba (Mandera) as well as Alexander Mundigi (Embu) of Democratic Party and David Wakoli (Bungoma) of Ford Kenya.
They were joined by their Jubilee counterparts including Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo), James Lomenen (Turkana), Abdul Haji (Garissa) and Joseph Kamau (Lamu).
UDA’s Karungo Thang’wa (Kiambu) and Allan Chesang’ (Trans Nzoia) as well as ODM’s Richard Onyonka (Kisii) did not vote.
“There was no party position. We are determined to be the House of reason and one that pays fidelity to the rule of law. Consistent with the Supreme Court’s decisions in the past, if the process is flawed, the outcome is equally flawed,” said Senator Kajwang’.
“That is why we passed the ball back to the Kericho County Assembly to ensure they process the motion within the law. We hope they can use this window to mediate and find alternative solutions to the governance challenges facing the county,” he added.
Senator Osotsi added that there was no party position as such does not work in the Senate as it is an objective House.
“The preliminary objection was very strong of facts and law. There is no way the Senate would have proceeded with a full trial with the question of two-thirds hanging over us. It would have been a waste of time and the governor would have easily gotten reprieve in court,” said Mr Osotsi.
