The problems in Meru are a mix of politics and cultural hate for women - Senator Onyonka

In Onyonka's view, the video played by Mwangaza's defense team before the House during Wednesday's hearing displayed a stark revelation of the perception against women in Meru.

Onyonka was referring to one of the clips where Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi was captured verbally attacking her for not having children with her current husband.

Aburi was seen making a charged address while rubbing a stick between his palms as he spoke in Meru's vernacular language.

Asked by her advocate to translate what the MP was saying, Governor Kawira said:

"He is saying he has given me 9 months to be pregnant and if that is not done. He will do it via what he is holding," Kawira says before shedding tears.

Speaking during Citizen's TV interview on Thursday, Onyonka said that the video sparked sympathy among senators and Kenyans, prompting the decision to vote in favor of the governor.

He argued that despite the MCAs having a tangible case against Mwangaza, the video was the tiebreaker and gave the impeachment trial a different trajectory.

"Not that she was completely innocent [but] I think that sympathy made the men in the Senate begin to ask ourselves how do you distinguish the abuses she received which were sexually based and you telling me that she's just a bad manager," he said.

"I think the team that was against Mwangaza lost because Meru's problem was a mix of the cultural hate on the woman, not that all women in Meru hate women but there's that thing."

The lawmaker further argued that the wrangles in the county are also political and can be solved amicably without escalating them to a national level.

"The problems you have in Meru were political and when you try to analyse the scenario it takes alot of energy to analyse the political implication of what has been happening in Meru," he said.

"I think the leadership needs to get back to the drawing board. The MCAs did their job though it looked like they were the hatchet men but we need to explain what this democracy thing is all about in our country, how are our counties supposed to be managed."

Mwangaza, for the second time, survived a bid to remove her from office by impeachment after a majority of the 47 Senators failed to uphold any of the seven charges cited against her by the Meru County Assembly.

The Governor was accused of misappropriating county resources, nepotism and unethical practices, bullying and vilifying other leaders, usurping her statutory powers, contempt of court, illegally naming a public road after her husband and contempt of the Meru County Assembly.