Kericho Governor Erick Mutai walked out of the Senate chambers a free man today after a tense and closely watched impeachment battle ended in his favour.
This is after the Senate, by a majority vote, established that the County Assembly failed to meet the required threshold to oust the governor.
In a majority vote, 26 senators affirmed that the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to impeach the governor.
Meanwhile, 16 MCAs voted to confirm that the assembly met the required numbers to pass the motion.
One senator abstained. This marks the second time in less than a year that Governor Mutai has avoided impeachment on procedural grounds.
The first attempt in October 2024 collapsed after his legal team successfully argued that the motion fell short of the two-thirds threshold required by the Constitution—31 votes instead of the minimum 32—and the Senate invalidated the motion on those technical grounds.
The Senate’s decision followed three days of marathon hearings. The Assembly had levelled multiple charges against the governor, including abuse of office, financial impropriety, illegal dismissals, and allegations of fictitious payments.
During the proceedings, Governor Mutai contested the credibility of the electronic voting system used by the MCAs to pass the impeachment motion.
The MCAs had reported that 33 out of 47 members voted in support of the impeachment.
However, the governor argued that the system was insecure and had been accessed by unauthorised individuals.
Despite a report from an ICT expert from the ICT Authority stating the system was sound and secure, a majority of senators sided with Mutai’s claims and dismissed the motion.
