Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro convened the House after he received documents from the Kericho County Assembly on Chepkwony’s impeachment.
NAIROBI, Kenya May 23 – The Senate has for the third time this year set up an 11-member Special Committee to investigate the conduct of a Governor, after Paul Chepkwony was ousted from office by the Kericho County Assembly, which accused him of corruption and abuse of office.
The Senate Special Committee will now be required to summon Chepkwony to respond to the allegations levelled against him, as well as the MCAs to shed more light on their claims.
Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro convened the House after he received documents from the Kericho County Assembly on Chepkwony’s impeachment.
The Speaker directed that within the stipulated time the special team must deliver its recommendations to the House.
“The committee should reply to the Senate in 10 days on whether it finds the particulars of the allegations against the Governor to have been substantiated. As I had ruled earlier, the 10 days start from Saturday, May 24, 2014. The report will therefore be brought to the Senate on June 3,” the Senate Speaker informed the House.
Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki moved the Motion to form the committee, saying the matter touched on the roots of the core business of protecting counties and county governments.
“All Governors in this country who are looting and they think the county coffers are private family resources, be warned that the Senate of the Republic of Kenya will hunt you down and make sure we send you out of the office but we also send you to jail forever and forever,” Kindiki warned.
Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetangula and Siaya Senator James Orengo emphasised the magnitude of the impeachment process at the Senate.
“When a national government is paying Sh1.4 billion and that is not a matter for impeachment and a Governor is using seeds worth Sh3 million and that Governor is impeached… people are beginning to say is there no sense of justice. A lot of people are saying why are crucifying Governors when the mess and rot is more with the national government.”
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi and Kakamega Boni Khalwale criticised a recent court decision which put aside the Senate decision to support the Embu County Assembly resolution to impeach Governor Martin Wambora.
“Although we want to see justice done to the Governors and make sure that if charges are brought here and are not authenticated we shall not confirm them but on the same breath we must say to the Governors firmly that this House is not going to sit and wait and watch for them ridiculing this House after this process has taken place,” said the Kiambu Senator.
“People have been writing a lot of articles intimidating us; telling us that we cannot be dismissing Governors every other day… we are undermining devolution and reminding us that it is our duty to protect devolution; as if this is not protecting devolution. In fact, what we are doing is protecting the counties against itself,” Homa Bay County Senator Otieno Kajwang added.
Senators Kiraitu Murungi, Stephen Sang, Daniel Karaba, Fatuma Dullo, Beatrice Elachi, Billow Kerrow, Danson Mwazo, Chris Obure, Abdirahman Ali Hassan, Catherine Mukiite, and Mutula Kilonzo Junior have been nominated to sit in the special team which is expected to report back to the House within 10 days.
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