NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 30 – Kericho Governor Erick Mutai has extended an olive branch to members of the county assembly after surviving a second impeachment at the Senate.
He called for unity among leaders for the sake of development and the growth of the county.
Mutai survived impeachment after 25 out 42 Senators vote to determine that the threshold had not been met.
The relieved governor expressed gratitude to his legal team and 18 county assembly members who supported him, while calling for unity among county leaders for the benefit of the public.
“I am not perfect, I have my flaws. But God is a God of second chances – and today, the devil has been put to shame,” said Mutai.
“I also want to thank my legal team, led by Katwa Kigen; without them, this would be very difficult. They have not slept together with our staff from Kericho County, and they made this happen. I want to thank the 18 Members of Assembly from Kericho County who stood solidly with me; they made their voices heard. God has vindicated us.”
Governor Mutai survived impeachment for the second time in a year after 25 out 42 Senators vote to determine that the threshold had not been met.
Speaker Amason Kingi terminated the impeachment proceedings after the vote saying that if the threshold was not achieved at the County Assembly, the Senate had no business conducting the trial.
During the vote held on August 29, one senator abstained, while 16 felt the threshold had been met.
During the trial which began on August 27, Governor Mutai legal team raised a preliminary objection arguing that the initial 32 threshold required for the impeachment at the county assembly level had not been achieved.
The issue of the process of voting and who actually voted was contentious that the House failed to delve into substantive matters leading to the impeachment at the County Assembly.
The MCAs had filed three charges against the Governor: Violations of the Constitution and other laws, abuse of office and gross misconduct.
The Governor’s side called nearly 20 witnesses, including 18 MCAs, including an IT expert to defend him.
The County Assembly summoned six witnesses.The Senate resorted to an independent expert from the ICT Authority.
However, none of these expert witnesses cleared the doubts on who actually voted and whether the threshold was achieved
