Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has scheduled a special sitting on Wednesday for the impeachment hearing of embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza. Last Thursday, 49 members of the Meru County Assembly voted to impeach Mwangaza for the third time.
The impeachment motion was initiated by Deputy Majority Leader Zipporah Kinya, who accuses the governor of gross constitutional violations, gross misconduct, and abuse of office. According to a Gazette notice from Speaker Kingi, the special sitting will commence at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Senate Chamber at the Parliament buildings in Nairobi.
“The business to be transacted at the sitting shall be the hearing of the charges against Ms. Kawira Mwangaza, the Governor of Meru County. In accordance with Standing Order 33 (5) of the Senate Standing Orders, the business specified in this Notice shall be the only business before the Senate during the special sitting, following which the Senate shall stand adjourned until Tuesday, 3rd September 2024, at 2:30 p.m. in accordance with the Senate calendar,” Kingi said on Tuesday.
During last week’s voting, three Meru MCAs did not vote to remove Governor Mwangaza from office, while 17 others voted against the motion.
It marked the third time Mwangaza, a first-time governor, has been impeached at the county assembly, although there have been five attempts to oust her.
‘BLOATED WORKFORCE’
In the latest impeachment bid, Kinya submits that Mwangaza has persisted in “discreditable acts” that violate national and county laws.
“The discreditable acts have exposed the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Deputy Governor, the Assembly and its leadership and the people of Meru County to national shame, scandal, embarrassment, ridicule and disgrace,” reads the notice of motion.
Governor Kawira Mwangaza faces accusations for failing to appoint chairpersons to key boards, such as the Meru County Revenue Board and the Meru Microfinance Corporation. Additionally, she is alleged to have unlawfully revoked Virginia Miriti’s appointment as county secretary without securing the required 75% vote from Meru MCAs.
Other charges include overpaying 161 doctors and medical officers by Ksh. 74.3 million due to incorrect emergency call allowance rates and using a manual payroll system to disburse Ksh. 102.9 million in personnel emoluments.
The impeachment motion further claims that Mwangaza employed an excessive number of personal staff, at least 111, which Deputy Majority Leader Zipporah Kinya argues has significantly increased the county’s wage bill by over Ksh. 500 million.
Additionally, she is criticized for paying full salary and benefits to a staff member who was in remand over a murder case.
Kinya contends that attempts at reconciliation have been unsuccessful, and that Mwangaza’s continued tenure has “persistently undermined effective and efficient service delivery, severely harming the interests of the county’s residents.”
Mwangaza previously survived a second impeachment attempt last November when a majority of the 47 senators did not uphold any of the seven charges brought against her by the Meru County Assembly.
These charges included misappropriation of county resources, nepotism, unethical practices, bullying, vilification of other leaders, and overstepping her statutory powers. She was also accused of contempt of court, illegally naming a public road after her husband, and disregarding the Meru County Assembly.
The first impeachment bid against Mwangaza was in December 2022, but an 11-member Senate committee found that all charges leveled against her were unsubstantiated.
