Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza yesterday put up a spirited fight to wade off allegations leveled against her in the third impeachment motion brought by the members of the assembly.

Senators were expected to vote on the motion last evening after two days of hearings by the two sides.

Kawira has been accused of among other charges,abuse of office and gross violation of the Constitution.

Her legal team strongly fought off the charges dismissing them as politically motivated, malicious and weak.

Her witnesses told senators that the motion was mobilised by powerful politicians in the country who have never accepted Kawira as their governor.

Impeachment

“There are leaders in the county who are hell bent to see the governor fall, they have been pushing for impeachment, but since they do not have tangible grounds end up creating falsehoods,” Kaaria Mawira, MCA Mitunguu.

Videos played during the session showed how the leaders convened meetings to plot the ouster and even bash the Senate for previously overturning similar motions.

Mawira, who moved the last impeachment motion against the governor, told senators that his colleagues were financially influenced to pass the motion.

Those who refused to support the motion were removed from all departmental committees and dues owed were denied.
Mawira acknowledged that MCAs are indeed facilitated materially and financially to support the ouster motions against the governor.

He revealed that when it was reported that a blogger known as “Sniper” assassinated, the County Assembly facilitated its members to attend a meeting in Nanyuki to plot the impeachment.

“During the meeting that took place in Nanyuki, 59 members who supported the ouster motion were each given Sh20,000 as Christmas present by the Speaker of the Assembly of Meru,” he said.

Ballooning wage bill

Kawira vehemently denied supervising the ballooning wage bill in her government, illegally paying allowances to medics and paying county employees through a manual system.

County Finance Executive Ibrahim Kirimi told senators that the county paid the allowances to medics to implement a return-to-work formula that was entered in 2017.

“There are correspondences made by the Ministry of Health concerning what it resolved,” Kirimi said.

In their submission, the MCAs had claimed that the county chief engaged in irregular payments of emergency call allowances to 161 doctors and medical officers using the wrong rates leading to excessive payments for Sh74.34 million.

On manual payment of staff, the CEC submitted that the move was triggered by the delayed issuance of IPPD numbers to some employees by the Ministry of Public Service.

Illegal appointment

In the charges filed at the Senate, the MCAs are accusing the governor of violating several provisions of the constitution and the law. The claim that the governor illegally appointed CPA Virginia Kawira Miriti as CEO of the County Public Service Board without a two-thirds vote of the members of the county assembly.

This, they said, breached sections 54 (4) and 59A of the County Government Act.

They also claim that the county boss violated section 4 of the Public Appointments (County Assemblies Approval) Act by failing to appoint chairpersons of the Meru County Revenue Board, Meru Microfinance Corporation, Meru Youth Service Board and Meru Investment and Development Board.

The relentless ward reps also allege that the governor has failed to implement resolutions of the county assembly contrary to Article 183 (3)of the Constitution. The governor is also accused of illegally dismissing the CEO of the County Revenue Board and abusing provisions of the Evidence Act.