• In his submission, Bare who seconded the impeachment motion against the governor in the county assembly, alleged the governor's wife and children were involved in the procurement irregularities.
• He claimed that the governor has allowed his wife to 'literally run the county affairs as the de facto authority.'
The hearing of the impeachment case against Wajir Governor Mohammed Abdi on Thursday entered its second day.
The session started at 10.20 am with the second witnesses for the county assembly taking the stand for cross-examination.
MCA Ahmed Bare testified on Wednesday but could not be cross-examined by the Governor's lawyers because time had elapsed.
In his submission, Bare who seconded the impeachment motion against the governor in the county assembly, alleged the governor's wife and children were involved in the procurement irregularities that now threatens to sink the county boss.
He claimed that the governor has allowed his wife to 'literally run the county affairs as the de facto authority.'
The embattled governor however poked holes in the submission by the county assembly alleging the county first lady controlled award of tenders and received kickbacks.
Through his lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, the governor questioned the source of the documents relied upon by Diff MCA Ahmed Bare.
Bare provided several documents including bank statements claiming that the governor's wife received kickbacks from several companies.
But Njiru sought to discount the claims, demanding to know the source of the documents.
"Can you confirm that these bank accounts are linked to the first lady? How did you obtain these documents from KCB?" the lawyer posed.
The witnesses maintained the authenticity of the documents but said he would not disclose the source of the documents and how he acquired them.
Njiru questioned the character of the witness, revealing that prior to his election, he worked with the National police service, CID department and was involved in a corruption case while attached at the Kenya Porta Authority.
But the witness said the claims were wild allegations.
Njiru also pushed the witness to prove that the governor's wife influenced the award of tenders or some of the companies contracted by the county owned by the governor's family or proxies.
Wajir MCAs on Wednesday sought to place the wife and children of embattled Governor Abdi at the centre of what they called a "tender graft web" that threatens to ensnare him.
In a blow-by-blow account, the MCAs detailed how Kheira Omar Maalim— the governor’s wife whom they described as the ultimate leader and de facto authority — allegedly has been influencing tenders and receiving kickbacks.
They said she has been running the show in the county executive.
The case is being heard by a Senate committee, not the full Senate.
MCAs submitted that Abdi presides over an opaque administration riddled with corruption and has overseen a ballooning county debt of about Sh2 billion.
But he refused to release Sh70 million due to the assembly, they said.