Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has declined to appear in the Meru County Assembly today, December 14, to defend herself against impeachment.
The governor, through her lawyer Elias Mutuma, claims that reintroducing the impeachment motion violates court orders that halted the first impeachment hearings last month.
“The reintroduction of the impeachment motion whose validity is pending determination in court becomes offensive to the very County Assembly Standing Orders that govern your procedures and proceedings. Similarly, proceeding with the impeachment process would amount to ingeniously perpetuating the very mischief meant to be cured by the conservatory orders of the Honourable Court,” Mutuma said in a letter to the Meru County speaker.
“It is based on the above that we have been instructed to write, as we hereby do, seeking that the debate of the proposed impeachment motion slated for 14th December 2022 be halted forthwith, else proceeding with the same shall be deemed as contempt of court which shall attract the appropriate legal action against any contemnors who shall be held personally liable,” he added.
Even as residents pleaded for a cease-fire between the governor and the enraged County Assembly members, the distraught county leader vowed to seek restitution in court (MCAs).
Before the debate, the MCA, dressed in black suits, white shirts, and red ties, sang and danced to ‘Kaende Kaende,’ before entering the assembly to pray.
The troubled governor posted a cryptic message to the MCAs on Facebook, writing, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up, Galatians 6:9.”
The MCAs accuse the governor of nepotism, illegal appointments, unlawful dismissals, and usurpation of the county organ’s constitutional and statutory powers.
Other grounds include unlawful riots against assembly members, forcible entry into the assembly precincts, a violation of public financial management law, and malfeasance in the nomination of County Executive Committee Members.
