- Says assembly did not have requisite quorum at the time of his impeachment
- Embattled governor has promised to provide pictorial, video and hotel records as evidence
Image: FILE
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has challenged his impeachment by the county assembly citing irregularities in procedure.
In a letter to the Speaker of the Senate Keneth Lusaka, Waititu argues that apart from timelines not being followed by MCAs in tabling and debating the impeachment motion, there was no prerequisite quorum.
Waititu says of the total 92 MCAs, only 57 were present during debate and voting, 35 were absent as 30 were away in Lake Bogoria Lodge, Baringo county.
Three other MCAs were in Dubai on official duties while two were absent.
From the total of 92 MCAs, the statutory quorum required under Section 33(2) of the County Governments Act to pass such a special motion is 62 members, Waititu tells Senate in his letter dated December 22.
He says the MCAs who were away in Baringo county have sworn affidavits affirming that they were not present during the assembly sitting.
The embattled governor has promised to provide pictorial, video and hotel records as evidence detailing the time the MCAs checked in and out of the lodge.
“Notably, the house could not have attained the 62 votes for yes. Suffice it to note 30 MCAs would not have been available to vote at 1430hrs noting that the journey from Lake Bogoria to Kiambu would ordinarily take a minimum of four hours,” Waititu argues.
He questions why assembly Speaker Stephen Ndicho unilaterally adjourned the assembly during the voting stage yet a special motion of that kind ought not to have been adjourned at the voting stage as per the Standing Orders.
Waititu holds that the motion was first tabled in the assembly on December 3 and was debated and passed on December 19, “thus outside the purview of the statutory period of 14 days.”
The governor says in an attempt to cover up the irregularities, the assembly speaker has resorted to doctoring and falsifying the assembly 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 and our client has instructed us to seek legal redress against the conduct of the speaker, which includes but not limited to raising a complaint with the DCI,” the law firm says.
But in a rejoinder, Ndicho fired back at Waititu dismissing the claims as unfounded.
“You may doctor any record but not the Hansard because it is electronically recorded . So it is an unfounded allegation,” he told the Star.
On Thursday last week, the MCAs impeached Waititu for abuse of office and gross misconduct.
The governor was also voted out on charges of conflict of interest for allegedly using proxy companies to trade with the county and failure to comply with procurement regulations.
The county lawmakers cited gross violation of the Constitution, County Government Act, Public Procurement and Disposal Act as well as the Public Finance Management Act.
The Senate will consider the grounds of impeachment of Waititu when it resumes sittings next year February.