Embu MCAs impeach Governor Wambora, again!

Twenty-three Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) voted in favour of his impeachment while eight voted against it as two abstained/FILE

EMBU, Kenya, Apr 29 – Embu Governor Martin Wambora was impeached for the second time by the Embu County Assembly on Tuesday, barely two weeks after the High court reinstated him.

Twenty-three Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) voted in favour of his impeachment while eight voted against it as two abstained.

The vote took place as the Kerugoya High Court heard an application by Wambora who sought to stop debate on his impeachment.

“The judiciary took the issue when the County Assembly had already started debating it. The matter was before us and should continue. No matter was pending in court when the motion was tabled,” the Embu County Assembly Speaker Kariuki Mate said.

Runyenjes MCA Steve Simba together with his Kagaari South counterpart Robert Ireri however put up a spirited fight in Wambora’s defence as they sought to stall debate on his ouster.

Simba plead with the House to instead ask the Governor to step aside to allow investigations into whether he was indeed guilty of financial impropriety.

“Mr Speaker Sir, the House debated and found that County Secretary Lorna Kariuki was found to be behind the rot. It is not fair to put the baggage on the Governor,” he argued.

He also asserted that it was only possible to reintroduce an impeachment motion after the lapse of three months from the date the Senate dispensed with the matter.

But Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh, who reintroduced the impeachment motion, overruled Simba’s objection.

“According to the courts, no debate on this matter ever took place and I am guided by that ruling to allow this debate to continue,” he said.
He had also sought an adjournment of the motion until the case filed by Wambora was heard. READ: Wambora battles fresh impeachment bid.

But the Speaker ruled that as the court hadn’t as yet issued an order barring debate, there was no need to adjourn.

The Speaker also said that they had given Wambora an opportunity to appear and defend himself before the House either personally or through his lawyers but he had not responded.

The last time the Embu County Assembly impeached Wambora, the Senate endorsed their decision.

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OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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