Meru County Assembly halts debate on Governor Mwangaza's impeachment after court ruling
![Meru County Assembly halts debate on Governor Mwangaza's impeachment after court ruling Meru County Assembly halts debate on Governor Mwangaza's impeachment after court ruling](https://citizentv.obs.af-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/130052/conversions/Meru-County-Assembly-og_image.webp)
The Meru County Assembly.
The Meru County Assembly has stopped debating a recent impeachment motion
against Governor Kawira Mwangaza following a High Court order issued on
Wednesday temporarily halting the proceedings until the court provides further
directions on the same on Monday, July 29, 2024.
The ruling was preceded by Mwangaza filing
a petition challenging the planned impeachment motion on grounds that the
proposal is being instigated by her political detractors.
Addressing the Meru County Assembly on Thursday, Speaker Ayub Bundi urged
members to adhere to the court ruling, emphasising the importance of upholding fairness in court trials.
"The
High Court issued a ruling to the effect that the consideration of the impeachment
motion be ousted pending further ruling of the court to be issued on July, 29,
2024. The scheduling has since been served in my office and the office of the
Clerk. The ruling handed down by the High Court is a testament to the rule of
law that governs our country and our commitment to upholding justice and
fairness," he said.
"While the
present ruling may evoke valid emotions and opinions among us; it is crucial
that we demonstrate our respect for the legal process by fully complying with the
court's directives. We shall await the ruling of the High Court in order to be
guided on the way forward."
Zipporah Kinya, a Nominated Member and
Deputy Leader of the Majority Party filed the motion to impeach Mwangaza on
grounds of gross violations of the Constitution, various national and county
laws, and abuse of office.
The
notice of motion by Kinya lists numerous specific allegations against the
Governor, such as illegal appointments and dismissals, financial misconduct,
and misleading the public.
Notably, the Governor is accused of
revoking the appointment of CPA Virginia Kawira Miriti as Secretary/CEO of the
Meru County Public Service Board without proper authorization and in
contravention of the law.
Additionally,
the Governor is alleged to have failed to appoint or illegally appointed
chairpersons for several county boards without the required vetting and
approval by the County Assembly.
The
document seen by Citizen Digital further details accusations of financial
misconduct, including the irregular payment of emergency call allowances to
doctors, leading to an excessive payment of Ksh.74.3 million and the use of a
manual payroll system to pay personnel emoluments amounting to Ksh.102.94
million.
The
motion also highlights the Governor's role in employing a bloated workforce,
significantly increasing the county's wage bill beyond legal limits.
This
is the third time that the first-time Governor is facing a bid to eject her
from office.
In November last year, she survived the
second bid to impeach her after a majority of the 47 Senators failed to
uphold any of the seven charges cited against her by the County Assembly of Meru that voted unanimously to
eject her from office.
Governor
Mwangaza was at the time 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.
She
was first impeached by the Assembly in December 2022 but an 11-member Senate
Special Committee appointed to probe the grounds for her impeachment submitted a report stating that none of
the charges levelled against her was proven.
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