Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has pleaded not guilty to all charges leveled against her by Members of County Assembly (MCAs).
Mwangaza entered the plea on Tuesday at the Senate as her two-day impeachment trial kicked off.
The former Women Representative had the seven charges she is facing read to her which she soundly denied, paving the way for her lawyer Elisha Ongoya to take the floor in her defence.
A summary of the seven charges includes;
1. Misappropriation of county resources by using her relatives (brother, two sisters, brother-in-law and her husband’s brother) to embezzle county funds.
2. Engaging in nepotism and unethical practices by presenting her relatives as a technical team for the purposes of traveling to China to certify cancer treatment equipment while knowing that they are not medical professionals.
3. Bullying, vilifying and demeaning other leaders. She is said to have excluded her Deputy Governor (DG) from official functions, posting demeaning messages about the DG in a WhatsApp group and encouraging elected leaders and the DG’s subordinate staff to make demeaning remarks against him.
4. Illegal appointments and usurping statutory powers. She is accused of appointing a chief officer without the County Assembly’s approval, disregarding the criteria for the establishment of offices in the county without the involvement of the county service board.
She is also accused of employing more than 100 staff in her office and paying various cleaners as support staff.
5. Contempt of court by refusing to obey court orders.
6. Illegally naming a public road after her husband without following the applicable statutory procedures.
7. Contempt of the assembly by refusing to honor lawful summons to answer to parts of the impeachment motion and directing her chief of staff to write a contemptuous letter to the assembly.
Mwangaza is being represented by a battery of lawyers including; Elisha Ongoya, Elias Mutuma, Duncan Okubasu, among others. The assembly is being represented by Dr Muthomi Thiankolu as the lead counsel.
Her case is being heard by a Senate plenary.
This is the second impeachment case filed against the governor at the Senate following a long-running friction between her and the county leadership.
Last year, MCAs tabled another motion of impeachment against Mwangaza over gross violations of the Constitution, including nepotism and irregular employment and financial malpractices.
She was then saved by an 11-member Senate committee over lack of evidence.
