Gachagua will a face Committee of the Whole House after the Senate rejected a motion to have a select team handle his impeachment/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 12 – The Senate is on Tuesday expected to commence public hearings in the impeachment of Governor Nderitu Gachagua on allegations of abuse of office, gross violation of the Constitution in procurement and corruption allegations by the Nyeri County Assembly.
The Senators who had to interrupt their month and-a-half-long recess will hold the hearings for three days until Thursday when they are supposed to confirm or reject the impeachment of Gachagua.
Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro has convened a Speaker’s Kamukunji Tuesday to guide the Senators on how they will handle the impeachment hearings in which he said the County Assembly will be the prosecutor and Governor Gachagua the defendant.
“We have a meeting on Tuesday between 9am and 10.30am for you to go through the rules, which we have formulated on the way we will conduct the hearings,” he said.
Gachagua will a face Committee of the Whole House after the Senate rejected a motion to have a select team handle his impeachment.
The House opposed the proposal to set up an 11-member committee, setting the stage for the first impeachment proceeding against a sitting Governor to be conducted in plenary.
Gachagua became the fourth governor to be recommended for impeachment by his ward representatives after Embu Governor Martin Wambora, Kericho’s Paul Chepkwony and Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria.
Only Wambora had allegations against him confirmed while Chepkwony and wa Iria kept their jobs after the Senators dropped the accusations against them.
According to documents submitted to the Senate by The County Assembly, the Nyeri MCAs cite the Annual Budget Implementation Status Report for the financial year 2015/16, which shows a sum of Sh1.161 billion, was utilised under development expenditure. However, projects expenditure in the same report amount to Sh808.29 million, leaving a sum of Sh352.98 million unaccounted.
The MCAs also say that based on the monthly Exchequer Release Report by the Controller of Budget dated July, Sh5.68 billion had been released to the county yet the Annual Budget Implementation Status Report showed Sh4.8 billion had been sent, meaning Sh846.7 million was not disclosed.
Other charges relate to the use of Sh70 million revenue collected without authorisation, irregular procurement, lack of prudence in the refurbishment of buildings amounting to Sh81.34 million, splitting of tenders, lack of prudence in the use of public funds and failure to establish the County Budget and Economic Forum.
Gachagua is also accused of failing to do his duty and assent to seven Bills passed by the County Assembly and not complying with the Employment Act and refusing or delaying to remit statutory deductions to the social security and hospital insurance funds for county employees.
On the charge of abuse of office and gross misconduct, Gachagua is accused of appointing a County Secretary in an acting capacity for an indefinite period contrary to the law.
The County Assembly had also found acting county Secretary Alice Wachira unqualified and unsuitable to hold the position and asked that she leave office immediately.
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