• MCAs list three grounds for impeaching the governor.
•On Monday, the Star exclusively reported that about the push and pull between the two jubilee camps over the control of the committee to probe the governor.
Divisions in Jubilee played out in the Senate on Tuesday as senators considered the impeachment motion against Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.
Kieleweke-leaning legislators ganged up with their NASA counterparts to reject the list of an 11-member committee proposed by Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen.
Twenty-eight lawmakers voted to reject the list, with only 15 supporting the motion to establish the committee.
The rejection implies Waititu’s ouster will be prosecuted in the plenary. The governor and the representatives of the county assembly will now appear on a day to be announced by Speaker Kenneth Lusaka to argue out their cases.
Kiambu MCAs impeached the county boss on December 19 for alleged gross misconduct and violation of the law and subsequently sent the matter to the Senate for consideration.
“Politics is about perception. Let’s change this list so the other people from the other side can feel confident,” nominated Senator Farhiya Ali said.
Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura claimed failure by the Senate leadership to convene a sitting within seven days upon receipt of the motion from Kiambu county assembly speaker as stipulated in Section 33 of the County Government Act was a ploy to ensure the motion flopped on the floor.
“The Senate cannot be used to sanitise governors because we are protectors of the people. We cannot have a list that was developed without consultation,” he said.
Removal of Governor: Senate Process
The speaker of the Senate convenes a sitting to hear the charges the county assembly brought against the governor.
A special committee of 11 senators is formed to investigate the charges levelled against the governor and report to the Senate within ten days.
If there is no proof against the allegations, then the impeachment inquiry is dismissed.
But if the committee finds proof, the Senate would proceed to vote on impeachment charges after assurance that the governor has received a fair hearing.
A governor holds the right to appear and be represented by a lawyer before the committee during the investigations.
A governor ceases to hold office if the majority of the senators vote in favour of the impeachment, otherwise if they vote against it, the Senate Speaker now notifies the County assembly Speaker.
An MCA can reintroduce the charges after three months from the day the Senate vote against the impeachment charges.
The proposed team was supposed to be chaired by Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala and deputised by Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto.
Its members were Mohamed Faki (Mombasa), Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira), Fredrick Outa (Kisumu), Hargura Godana (Marsabit), Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho), Anuar Oloitiptip (Lamu), Mithika Linturi (Meru) and Iman Falhada (nominated) and Sylvia Kasanga (nominated).
The Kieleweke senators argued that tasking the committee with such a ‘weighty and highly politicised’ matter would deny many of them an opportunity prosecute it.
“We are 11 members in the committee, but, in essence, only six people will be required to prosecute. That is not fair to the people of Kiambu and the delegations that we have in this house,” Nairobi’s Johnson Sakaja said.
Busia’s Amos Wako said, “In America, it [impeachment] is also done in the plenary. When exercising this important function, which is a quasi-judicial process, all members should participate.”
On Monday, the Star exclusively reported about the push and pull between the two Jubilee camps over the control of the committee to probe the governor.
On Tuesday, Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka announced three grounds fronted by the county assembly for impeaching the governor. The senators said Waititu grossly violated the Constitution, the County Governments Act, 2012, the PFM Act and the PPD Act.
“There was lack of accountability in the management of county resources by incurring unsustainable debts and other pending obligations to the tune of Sh4 billion,” the charges read.
They said Waititu violated Articles 176 (1) and 185 of the Constitution by disregarding the county assembly as an arm of the county government through systematic non-remittance of requisitioned funds in 2018-19.
“The governor diverted funds intended for use by the assembly to projects where he would obtain personal benefits through irregular procurement.
“The governor diverted funds intended for use by the assembly to projects where he would obtain personal benefits through irregular procurement."