Seth Mwaniki @MwanikiM
Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua was yesterday impeached by Nyeri Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) on claims of gross violation of the Constitution and misuse of public funds.
During the vote, 32 of the 46 MCAs voted in favour of the motion, moved by Kiganjo/Mathari Ward Rep Baragu Mutahi. The motion went through with a simple majority. The motion met the two-thirds threshold required to oust the governor as 14 members abstained from voting.
The MCAs on Thursday observed a rare night vigil in the Assembly precincts fearing possible interruptions. The leaders said they were aware of impending arrests by EACC detectives after some MCAs received written summonses from the anti-graft body to appear before it on Friday.
“Some member were issued with summonses to appear before EACC and we were fully aware that this was a plot to deny us the numbers needed to pass the motion,” Majority Leader Duncan Gituanja said. Governor Gachagua, who had been allocated two hours to reply to the allegations in the motion, did not appear in the chambers as expected.
House Speaker David Mugo said the Governor had promised to appear after his office contacted him. He said Gachagua later sent a lawyer to represent him but the latter declined, saying the governor was to respond in person and not through proxy. But minutes before the mover of the motion was called to reply, the Speaker instructed the Sergeant-at-Arms to take eight minutes to look for the governor outside the Assembly premises.
“I am now directing Sergeant-at-Arms to go and look for Governor Nderitu Gachagua outside the chamber, then bring findings back to me before I call them over to reply,” the Speaker directed. However, Gachagua was nowhere to be found and Mugo said he was left with no option but call for voting.
Addressing the media later, Mutahi said the will of Nyeri residents has been fulfilled. He urged Senate to endorse the move and respect the will of the people. The grounds cited for the impeachment motion included gross violation of the Constitution, County Governments Act (2012), Public Finance Management Act (2012) and Public Procurement and Disposal Act (2005).
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