Governor Mwangaza Faces Impeachment Trial in the Senate Plenary

The impeachment case against the embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, is set to be heard in the Senate plenary.

This decision was reached after the Majority Wing successfully countered the Minority Wing’s attempt to have the case heard by a special committee of 11 members.

Senate Speaker Jeffah Amason Kingi earlier unveiled the charges against Governor Mwangaza, marking the commencement of her trial for the second time in less than a year.

The allegations against the Governor were communicated by Meru MCAs, accusing her of several misconducts. These range from misusing county resources, practising nepotism, and bullying, to making illegal appointments.

Specifically, Mwangaza is alleged to have misappropriated county funds through her relatives and made fraudulent claims for their services. Accusations also include paying full salaries to high-ranking officials who rendered no services and misusing county resources. The MCAs further claim she favoured unqualified relatives for official duties abroad and key county positions.

Furthermore, she is accused of making illegal appointments against court orders and not adhering to proper recruitment procedures. A notable violation includes naming a public road after her husband without following statutory procedures, thereby breaching the Constitution and the Meru County Honours and Awards Act, of 2018. The Governor’s alleged contempt towards the Assembly was highlighted when she instructed her Chief of Staff to send a dismissive letter in response to a summons.

Minority Whip Sen.Ledama Olekina championed the formation of a Special Committee, proposing Senators including Abdi Haji, Boni Khalwale, Jackson Mandago, Peris Tobiko, Crystal Asige, Enoch Wambua, Esther Okenyuri, Karungó Thang’wa, Shakila Abdalla, Ali Roba, and Okiya Omtatah. Olekina stated, “Even though this is a political process, whenever we sit, we have the same powers of the High Court. I want to persuade this house to consider giving these 11 members an opportunity to hear the charges against the Governor.”

However, complications arose when the majority side refrained from proposing names for the panel. This led Olekina to suggest the same Senators that the Majority Party had previously nominated to hear Kawira’s ouster case during her initial removal by MCAs.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna voiced his support for the committee approach, stating, “It is the responsibility of the House to determine if the facts and evidence meet the threshold set in the law for a governor’s impeachment.”

Contrarily, Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot opposed the formation of the special panel, suggesting, “It is my proposal that we go the plenary way so that we listen, sit here calmly to understand what is the issue with Meru.”

Muranga Sen. Joe Nyutu criticised the reuse of the same members from the committee that presided over Kawira’s first impeachment proceedings last December.