Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

The Senate reconvenes tomorrow (Tuesday) to determine the fate of impeached Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.

In a special gazette notice, Speaker Amason Kingi called a special sitting of the Senate, currently on a long Christmas recess, to reconvene tomorrow.

“I have appointed Tuesday, 20th December 2022, as a day for a special sitting of the Senate. The sitting shall be held in the Senate Chamber, commencing 2.30pm. The business to be transacted shall be the hearing of the charges against Kawira Mwangaza, Governor of Meru County,” the notice reads.

The notice came even as Mwangaza plotted a counter attack, by initiating a people’s petition to force the dissolution of the county government.

The strategy borrows from one employed seven years ago by then Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana after he fell out with local MCAs.  Although the county government was never dissolved,  Kivutha had the last laugh when all but one of the MCAs were voted out in the 2017 General Election.  

The petitioners, through spokesperson Gakii Mbui, told ‘People Daily’ that they had already collected 200,000 signatures out of the 780,000 registered voters in the county.

They cite irreconcilable differences between the governor and the MCAs, which they claim have rendered the county government dysfunctional.

The strategy borrows from one employed by former Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana seven years ago after he fell out with the MCAs.

Although the county government was never dissolved,  Kivutha had the last laugh when all but one of the MCAs were voted out during the 2017 general election.  

Last week, the embattled governor termed her impeachment as “brand building” and accused the MCAs of being paid “millions of shillings” to get her out of office.

Mwangaza said her detractors spent sleepless nights plotting her ouster.

“They have used millions of money, sleepless nights, a lot of energy, sponsored headlines, engaging public seriously, connections with different types of people,” she wrote on her Facebook after her ouster motion sailed through on Wednesday evening.

Mwangaza became the first county chief to be impeached since the August 9 election, ending a four month standoff with the MCAs.

Mwangaza was voted out by all the 67 MCAs who were in the assembly during the impeachment motion.

Only two MCAs were absent and did not therefore participate in the exercise.

 Mwangaza, a former Meru Woman Representative had made headlines when she felled political giants like her predecessor Kiraitu Murungi and current Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithikas Linturi in the August 9 general election on an Independent ticket.

But her four month stint has largely been characterized by frosty relations with the MCAs, who accused her of nepotism and high handedness, among other ills.

Wednesday’s impeachment motion, sponsored by Abogeta West MCA Dennis Kiogora had initially been stopped by the High Court Judge Thripsisa Cherere who had termed it flawed.

The MCAs however ignored Justice Cherere’s orders and went ahead to unanimously vote her out, in a way vindicating Kiraitu who had predicted her downfall.

Claiming that he knew Mwangaza inside out, Kiraitu described her as among other expletives, “arrogant, hypocritical and drama queen” who lacked the capacity to run a county government.

“Kawira is a drama queen, what we are dealing with is not a simple village woman but a ruthless, arrogant, cunning, deceitful person who cannot work with anybody,” Kiraitu had warned during the campaigns.

Speaker after speaker during the impeachment motion accused Mwangaza of high handedness.

The governor had earlier threatened to sue the county assembly speaker Ayub Bundi and the MCAs of acting in contempt of court if they went ahead with the motion.

Mwangaza skipped the session despite being invited to appear before the MCAs and defend herself.

Mwangaza had recently appeared to tone down following a sustained onslaught from the MCAs, even appealing to President William Ruto to intervene.

Mwangaza’s impeachment was greeted with muted silence from the Meru political elite, including Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi, Kiraitu and area senator Kathuri Murungi.

Mwangaza recently accused Kathuri and Linturi were demanding a share of jobs in her county government and that they were using the MCAs to arm-twist her into yielding to their demands.

Her guitarist husband Murega Baichu at a rally in Muthara last month, claimed that Kathuri and Linturi demanded a share of the government slots, which his wife (Mwangaza) turned down.

Kathuri on his part appeared to blame Mwangaza for her woes, saying she had turned down overtures to work harmoniously with the MCAs.

“I initiated talks but she refused to listen. The problem will end when the governor humbles herself and heeds to the call to work with MCAs,” Kathuri told a local media house.

Baichu has also accused Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi of fighting the governor after she turned down his demand that she (Mwangaza) appoints his (Aburi) wife to her cabinet.

Aburi was one of the MPs who supported Mwangaza’s election.

“The reason Mpuru Aburi has turned against the governor is that he wanted his wife to be given a county executive docket. He also wanted road contracts for his twelve companies. On the first day the governor took office, Aburi brought a pending bill of more than Sh10 million for his TV station. The pending bills cannot be paid until they are audited and verified,” claimed Baichu.

Aburi however denied the allegations in a local FM and instead accused Baichu of disrespecting him.