Embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza is facing a make-or-break impeachment hearing in the Senate as her two-day impeachment trial began on Tuesday, November 7.
Mwangaza listened pensively as Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye read out all the charges as the impeachment proceedings started at the Senate.
The charges, 7 in number, include;
1. Misappropriation and misuse of County resources
a. The embezzlement of county funds through the Governor’s sisters; Rose Gwantai and Miriam Gwantai, as well as her brother Kenneth Gwantai, Brother in law Nephat Kinyua and the nephew to the governor’s husband Edwin Mutuma, all of whom are now collectively referred to as the ‘Governor’s relatives’.
b. The withdrawal of county funds under the guise of payment for various supplies yet they, the governor’s relatives are ineligible to tender for or supply any goods or services to the County Government.
c. Paying full salary and benefits for more than a year to CEO of the County Revenue Board Dr. Ntoiti, the CEO of Liquor Board Paul Mwaki, Peter Kimathi CEO of Meru Microfinance and CEO of MEAASS Joseph Kithure, while those officers were not tendering any services to the County.
d. The diversion and misuse of County resources including funds and motor vehicles to run the Governor’s private charity dabbed ‘Okolea’ despite a previous promise to the senate in the previous impeachment proceeding to refrain from conflating official county operations and ‘Okolea’ operations.
2. Nepotism and related unethical practices.
a. Fraudulently misrepresenting the Governor’s relatives as a technical team, for purposes of travel to China, to inspect and certify cancer treatment equipment, while knowing that the Governor’s relatives are not professionals.
b. Employing Edwin Mutuma who is a nephew to the Governor’s husband as the CEO of Meru Youth Service (MYS) and the acting Chief Officer of the Department of Finance.
c. The designation of Nephat Kinywa who is the Governor’s brother-in-law, as the Director of external linkages without transparent and competitive recruitment.
d. Assigning diplomatic duties namely engagements with foreign diplomats and dignitaries to her unqualified sisters namely Miriam Gwantai PA, and Rose Gwantai Bodyguard.
3. Bullying, vilification and diminishing other leaders
a. Exclusion of the Deputy Governor from County executive committee meetings and other official functions.
b. Bullying, undermining and posting insulting demeaning messages about the Deputy Governor in a WhatsApp group styled; ‘Third Government 012’ whose membership includes several officers subordinate to the Deputy Governor.
c. Encouraging and condoning insubordination and the making of insulting and demeaning public utterances by subordinate staff against the Deputy Governor and other elected leaders.
d. Bullying, undermining and posting insulting and demeaning messages about the Deputy Governor in a WhatsApp Group styled; ‘County Admin Services’ whose membership includes several officers who are subordinate to the Deputy Governor.
e. Encouraging and condoning the removal of the Deputy Governor from official county WhatsApp forums.
f. Arbitrary suspension, dismissal, withdrawal and frustration of the staff of the Deputy Governor.
g. Illegally, irregularly and fraudulently hounding the Deputy Governor’s staff out of office by purporting to accept their nonexistent resignations.
h. Arbitrary reductions, suspensions and withdrawal of budgetary facilitations for legitimate operations of the office of the Deputy Governor.
i. Threatening to inflict bodily harm against the Deputy Governor orally and in WhatsApp Groups chats.
j. Forceful breaking, entry and ransacking of the Deputy Governor’s office.
k. Changing the locks of the Deputy Governor’s office.
l. Arbitrary relocation of the Deputy Governor’s office.
m. Arbitrary withdrawal of security from the Deputy Governor’s residences.
n. Persistently making demeaning public utterances against other elected leaders despite the same issue featuring prominently in previous impeachment proceedings.
o. Making inciteful, insulting and demeaning remarks against other leaders by falsely accusing them of cartelism at a Presidential Thanksgiving service held in Laare, despite this issue arising in previous impeachment proceedings.
p. Encouraging, conniving and condoning her husband’s insulting and demeaning public utterances and musical performances against other elected leaders despite this issue featuring in previous impeachment proceedings.
4. Illegal appointments and usurpation of statutory powers
a. Appointing Kenneth Riungu as Chief Officer without County Assembly Approval.
b. Sending CEO of County Revenue Board Dr. Ntoiti, CEO of Liquor Board Paul Mwaki, the Managing Director of Meru Microfinance Corporation Kenneth Kimathi and the CEO of MEWASS Joseph Kithure Mberia on indefinite compulsory leave with full salary and benefits with usurpation of the powers of the appointing authorities under the relevant Meru County Laws.
c. Deploying other persons in breach of a Court order to perform the functions of the persons alluded to in subparagraph C above.
d. Appointing unqualified persons namely Edwin Mutuma, Kennet Riungu and Gitobu Nkanata as acting Chief officers without the requisite competitive recruitment and recommendation of the County Public Service Board.
e. Disregarding the criteria for the establishment of offices within the County Public Service by recruiting traffic marshals without the involvement of the County Public Service Board.
f. Usurping the powers of the County Public Service Board by creating offices of the traffic marshals which is the sole reserve of the County Public Service Board.
g. Employing a bloated workforce; more than 100 personal staff in the office of the Governor.
h. Irregularly designating and paying various cleaners as senior support staff while having 16 support staff.
i. Appointing the following persons to hold County Offices in an acting capacity for more than 6 months.
Monica Kagwima – Chief Officer Youth
Koome Muthuri – Director of Health Services
Francis Mungai – County Revenue Board CEO
Silas Muguna – Liquor Board CEO
5. Contempt of Court
The particulars of this charge are as follows;
The Governor has grossly violated among others – Articles 10 and 73 of the constitution, Sections 7 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, Section 10 of the Public Officer Ethics Act by connivance and or complicity in a contumacious stubborn refusal to obey lawful court orders.
6. Illegally naming a public road after her husband
The Governor has grossly violated among others Article 10 and 73 of the constitution, Sections 7 and 11 subsection 1 c of the Meru Owners and Awards act 2018, by naming a public road after her husband without following the applicable statutory procedures.
7. Contempt of the Assembly
a. Refusal to honor lawful summons to appear before the Assembly’s Sectoral Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Cohesion to answer questions on the matters raised in the preceding parts of this impeachment motion.
b. Directing her chief of staff and accomplice and lackey to write a contemptuous letter to the Assembly in response to lawful summons to appear before the Assembly’s Sectoral Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Cohesion.
c. In the refusal by her CECM finance and County Secretary to furnish documents to the Assembly on the frivolous grounds that;
An audit process was underway.
The matters raised by the Assembly were subdues.
The latter frivolous ground being also disingenuous and contrived when viewed against the fact that the Governor has already been convicted of contempt of Court.
According to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, the Governor will have an opportunity to present her case on Wednesday, November 8 before the Senate, followed by closing statements by each of the parties.
The Senate will then proceed to a debate prior to voting on each of the charges.
