Governor Charity Ngilu’s trusted treasury executive Mary Nguli was spared the sack due to lack of evidence on integrity and governance accusations against her.
MCAs who were vocal against her did not attend the quasi-judicial session that was investigating the accusations. The few who showed up failed to sufficiently prosecute their case.
Kitui county Assembly Special Committee headed by Johnson Kanandu (Mumoni ward) sought to determine the authenticity of allegations that formed the basis of the impeachment motion on December 14, 2018. It found her faultless.
Kanandu yesterday said since Nguli’s accusers had developed cold feet, there were no incriminating grounds or evidence to nail her.
“Out of the 37 MCAs who signed the motion to impeach Nguli, only four appeared before my committee and even then, they did not provide any documentary evidence to back their allegations,” Kanandu said in an interview.
He spoke in the wake of a barrage of social media posts in a number of Kitui county platforms that accused his five-member committee of being compromised to let Nguli off the hook. He said his team’s decision was reached professionally on the evidence presented.
The MCA said when Nguli appeared before the committee, she provided documentary evidence to clear her name. He said it was clear that most of the accusations should have been directed to other accounting officers.
“Seventy per cent of the committee members found the allegations unsubstantiated. I had to rule on the basis of the majority decision,” Kanandu said.
Last year, the Kitui assembly overwhelmingly voted to impeach Nguli, one of Ngilu’s most trusted Cabinet members.
She was accused of violating Chapter 6 on integrity, misleading the assembly, violating procurement laws and disregarding Assembly resolutions. She was also accused of failing to pay contractors' pending bills.
The assembly formed a five-member committee to investigate her and report back to the assembly.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
