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Meru County Assembly has withdrawn the fourth impeachment motion against governor Kawira Mwangaza

The new twist took place a day after the high court of Meru transferred the ouster motion to Njuri Ncheke’s council of elders.

In the ruling dated Monday, July 29 2024, Justice Phogon Kassan directed governor Kawira, the MCAs and their lawyers to appear before the elders on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. 

However, today, the elders distanced themselves from the proceedings calling on the court to withdraw the orders and keep them aside from the impeachment case claiming they have no powers or capacity to hear, interpret and determine such a constitutional case.

Led by Njuri Ncheke Secretary General Josphat Murangiri, the elders refuted the claims that they had sent a lawyer to represent the Council in the case and vowed to take legal action against the lawyer in question.

Kassan further ordered Njuri Ncheke to also submit a report on a resolution of the earlier mediation reached after President William Ruto requested the council for intervention.

The motion which was tabled by deputy majority leader Zipporah Kinya on July 17, 2024, citing the governor has, despite previous impeachment processes and warnings from the Senate, persisted in discreditable acts that singularly and collectively amount to, gross violation of the Constitution, gross violation of various national and county laws and abuse of office.

She highlighted that discreditable acts have exposed the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Deputy Governor, the Assembly and its leadership and the people of Meru County to national shame, scandal, embarrassment, ridicule and disgrace.

Kinya claimed that the Judiciary ruling to transfer the case to the council of elders is a mockery to the house adding the ruling was based on a forced hold and fake forged petitions from Njuri Ncheke.

“It was ridiculous and total incompetence of the judiciary for the judge to transfer an impeachment motion to Njuri Ncheke who has also distanced themselves from the ruling. We cannot wait until 20th August for the next ruling when Meru is suffering we will take the next action to save our country from collapsing,” she added.

“I withdraw this motion because this county is run through force hold, drama and fake monkey business and I am not a monkey to transact a monkey business,” she said.

Several MCAs who spoke also claimed that justice has been stolen from the people of Meru by the high court ruling vowing not to relent until they save the country.

“Justice Kassan is uninformed, rogue, incompetent and a shame to the Judiciary and we are asking the judiciary system to remove him from practice,” Mwenda Kiriinya, nominated MCA, said. 

Bishop Kawira who has been walking on a tightrope, last week had moved to court to restrain the county wards representative from debating on a fourth ouster motion.

Through her lawyer Elias Mutuma, the embattled county boss alleged that the ouster motion was flawed and driven by malice from her political opponents who are using the house to advance their political agenda.

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, Kassan issued an interim conservancy order suspending the debate of the impeachment motion by the MCAs against the governor.

Similarly in a move to save Kawira, President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) had intervened in the impeachment attempts and ordered the process to be stopped.

Consequently, the party through UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala summoned the mover of the motion to appear at UDA headquarters on 19 July 2024.