Governor Mutua woes worsen as impeachment motion tabled

A member of the Machakos County Assembly has tabled a motion seeking to oust Governor Alfred Mutua.

The motion by Stephen Mwanthi (Ekalakala Ward), seeks to pave way for County Assembly Speaker Florence Mwangangi to assume executive powers in an acting capacity.

Invoking Article 182 (4) of the constitution, the MCA said the assembly had not been served with any orders or notice of appeal to the Supreme Court where the county boss filed a notice of motion to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeal to nullify his election.

“In this view we are seeking to have the Speaker take over since this House has not been served accordingly. This will ensure there’s no vacuum in the leadership of this county,” he said.

A heated debate ensued in the Assembly where MCAs allied to Governor Alfred Mutua, led by deputy leader of Minority and Mwala MCA Brian Kisila, fiercely opposed the motion.

“It will be untimely to debate such a motion because it is clear and obvious that the Governor has not yet exhausted all his avenues of appeal,” he said.

Kisila maintained that the motion was “politically instigated, ill advised, driven by attention seekers” and lacked merit.

He added that Mutua is still the legitimate Governor of Machakos County until the Supreme Court’s determination.

According to Speaker Mwangangi: “This matter raises very serious legal and constitutional issues which require proper interpretation of the law. As such, I take it upon myself to consult on its implication and communicate on the matter as soon as possible.”

The Governor’s lawyer, Wilfred Nyamu, dismissed the motion, terming it premature and unnecessary.

“The current situation is that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has not even been served with the order of the court. For the assembly to discuss this issue, it is tantamount to occasioning a coup,” said Nyamu.

On Friday last week, the Court of Appeal overturned Mutua’s election victory against former Kathiani lawmaker Wavinya Ndeti.

Earlier in February, a High Court sitting in Machakos had quashed Ms Ndeti’s election petition citing lack of sufficient evidence.

She would, however, later appeal the decision.