A Member of the Nyandarua County Assembly (MCA) has filed a motion to impeach Governor Kiarie Badilisha, marking the beginning of what is expected to be one of the biggest political moves in the county.
Mirangine MCA Samuel Mathu, the sponsor of the motion, says Dr Kiarie has committed acts that violate the Constitution, hence the need to hound him out of office.
Mr Mathu claims that he has evidence to prove that the governor has acted contrary to the law over the past two years. The motion will be tabled in the Chambers next week.
“I have [proof] of persistent, [discreditable], dishonourable and commission acts by the governor over the past two years, which amounts to gross violations of the constitution,” the MCA says in an affidavit.
“This also amounts to violations of county laws and gross misconduct.”
Mr Mathu says over half of Nyandarua MCAs have appended their signatures in support of the motion, ‘for the sake of supporting development in the county.’
If Dr Kiarie’s ouster bid sails through, he will become the third governor to be impeached this year, following similar actions that befell the county bosses of Meru and Kericho.
- Kericho MCAs impeach Governor Eric Mutai for misconduct
- Kericho Governor Mutai survives impeachment at the Senate
- Dark day for Mwangaza as Senate upholds impeachment
- Mwangaza returns to office amid impeachment controversy
On August 8, 2024, Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza was impeached for the third time by the Meru County Assembly, amid allegations of serious misconduct and legal violations.
In a vote, where an overwhelming majority of 40 out of 69 voted in favour, the impeachment bid achieved the required two-thirds majority. The case proceeded to the Senate, which upheld the decision to remove Ms Mwangaza from office on August 20.
A day later, Justice Bahati Mwamuye suspended the Senate’s decision, stating that Mwangaza’s case raised serious issues that should be heard and determined by the court.
The judge also issued an order preventing Senate Speaker Amason Kingi from publishing a notice in the Kenya Gazette declaring a vacancy in the office of Meru County Governor.
Ms Mwangaza is still in office awaiting a court ruling on the matter.
In a similar development, Kericho MCAs impeached their Governor, Eric Mutai, on October 2, accusing him of gross misconduct and abuse of office, among other issues.
During the session, 16 MCAs who supported the embattled governor were absent from the proceedings, which ignored a court order that had temporarily halted the impeachment.
When the matter was taken to the Senate, the Senators hurriedly voted in favour of a motion seeking to terminate the hearing of the impeachment, effectively letting the governor off the hook.
Dr Mutai had earlier, in his submissions before the House, denied all the accusations leveled against him by the Kericho MCAs.
The governor faced a wide array of accusations, the most prominent of which were gross violations of the Constitution and mismanagement of county finances.
The MCAs alleged that the governor misappropriated, misallocated, and engaged in illegal withdrawals of county revenue and finances.
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