MERU, Kenya, Nov 22 – A motion seeking to impeach Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza was on Tuesday tabled in the Meru County Assembly.
The motion which was tabled by Abothuguchi West MCA Denis Kiogora who is also the minority whip in the house was supported by 68 out of the total 69 MCAs in the assembly by appending their signatures.
Grounds that the motion seeks to impeach the Governor include nepotism, illegal appointments, unlawful dismissals and usurpation of the constitutional and statutory functions of county organ, Contempt of Court, incitement, bullying, vilification, and misleading campaigns against other leaders.
Other grounds include forceful entry into the assembly precincts and mobilisation of unlawful riots against members of the assembly, violation of public finance management law, and misconduct relating to the nomination of County Executive Committee Members.
Some of the allegations against the Governor on nepotism and illegal appointments include appointing her husband to the non-existent offices of the Patron of the Meru Youth Service and the hustler’s ambassador before conducting a transparent and competitive recruitment process.
She is also accused of disregarding the criteria for the establishment of offices within the county public service including failing to submit her husband’s name for approval by the assembly before making the impugned appointments.
The reappointment of Rufus Miriti as the County Secretary without the approval of the Assembly and the appointment of unqualified persons to hold county offices without undertaking a transparent and competetive recruitment process is also an issue that has been raised in the motion.
The allegedly unqualified persons include Munene Samaritan (Director of Special Programmes), Earnest Mutembei (Director, Monitoring and Evaluation), Henry Mzungu (Director of Administration), and Hillary Sandi (Director of Communications).
On contempt of court and illegal dismissals, Mr Kiogora accused the governor of illegally placing staff on compulsory leave and replacing others before the expiry of their respective employment contracts.
She was also accused of violating a court order issued in Meru ELRC Case No E012 of 2022 forbidding the Governor and the County Executive from dismissing or replacing county workers as well as locking them out of their offices by changing door locks.
She is also on focus for allegedly dismissing county workers at a public rally instead of following due process as well as declaring and swearing in a rally that they would defy any Court Orders issued in favour of some of the targeted county workers, bringing the administration of justice into disrepute.
On incitement and bullying the Governor is accused of holding public vilification, incitement, and humiliation rallies against Members of the Assembly and other elected leaders, falsely accusing MCAs and other elected leaders of being cartels, blackmailers, greedy, corrupt and intimidating.
Others include holding public vilification and incitement rallies against the Catholic Church and Catholic clergy and inciting the public against the MCAs and other elected leaders while knowing that such conduct can easily trigger violent reactions and pose serious breaches of the peace.
She is also said to have violated the Public Finance Management laws by directing the Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital to spend all revenue at source whereas all monies raised or received by or on behalf of the County should be paid into the County Revenue Fund.
She is also said to have issued waivers on fees at the same hospital, whereas the County Executive Committee Member for Finance is the only person legally empowered to grant such waivers.
Directing county government officers to participate in furthering and advancing the interests of Baite TV, a media station said to be owned by Mwangaza Advertiser Limited, a private company owned by the Governor through her close relatives as proxies is also an issue of concern by the county assembly.
Speaking to the media after tabling the motion, Mr Kiogora said public participation will be held on Monday at the assembly precincts where residents will be required to air their views on the motion.
“We are asking the residents to read and understand the motion which can be accessed from the assembly’s website so they can contribute from a point of information,” he said adding that memoranda were also being received through the assembly addresses.
He added that the governor will also be expected to appear at the assembly on Tuesday to respond to the allegations after which the house will decide the way forward.
“WE are expecting to debate and vote on the motion on Wednesday after considering the reply from the Governor as well as people’s views on the motion,” said Mr Kiogora.
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