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Embattled Waititu writes to Senate over ‘unlawful impeachment ‘

Waititu was impeached weeks after facing corruption charges. /CFM-FILE.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 23- Embattled Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has now written letter to the Senate, saying his impeachment was unlawful as there was no quorum during the proceedings.

In a letter to Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, Waititu said that there were only 57 MCAs present during the motion which required a majority of 62.

Through his lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, the Governor further observed the special session was adjourned prematurely contrary to the standing orders.

According to the Governor, at the time of his impeachment 35 MCAs were absent, hence questioning how the Speaker arrived at 63 votes supporting the impeachment.

“30 MCAs were in Lake Bogoria Lodge, 3 MCAs were in Dubai on official duties while two were absent. Notably, the house could not have attained the 63 votes for a yes,” reads the letter seen by Capital FM.

Kiambu County Assembly has 92 MCAs, thus the statutory quorum required under Section 33(2) of the County Governments Act to pass a special motion is 62 members.

Waititu has also accused the Kiambu County Assembly Speaker for doctoring the Assembly’s records including CCTV footage, the Hansard and biometric logs in order to cover up the quorum hitch, hence calling for investigations.

“We are reliably informed that, in a bid to cover up for the foresaid illegalities relating to the two-thirds quorum, the Speaker of the Assembly is in the process of doctoring and falsifying the Assembly’s records relating to the CCTV footage, the Hansard and the biometric logs captured. These actions by the Speaker are actionable in a Court of Law,” reads the letter.

Also being contested is the duration taken when the motion was tabled, debated and passed.

Waititu’s lawyer argues that the motion was first tabled on December 3, 2019 and was debated and passed on December 19, 2019 hence outside the purview of the statutory period of 14 days.

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Waititu was impeached on after the Kiambu Assembly Speaker announced that 63 MCAs had voted to have the Governor impeached.

The motion to impeach Waititu was tabled by Ndenderu MCA Solomon Kinuthia on grounds of abuse of office and gross misconduct.

The Governor was also accused of violating procurement rules by awarding county tenders to companies owned by his close relatives.

Waititu, his wife and other Kiambu County officials are facing corruption charges over tenders amounting to over Sh580 million.

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi barred Waititu from accessing his office after he was arraigned over corruption.

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