Nyaribo faces 12 accusations as MCA tables ouster motion

The process of removing Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo started yesterday when an impeachment motion was tabled at the County Assembly.

Esise MCA Josiah Mangera tabled the motion at the Assembly at 10.56 am in a session presided over by Speaker Enock Okero.

Yesterday was the first sitting after the MCAs came back from recess.

In his motion, Mangera cited 12 grounds for the impeachment. Mangera said the removal bid was pursuant to Article 181(a)(b)(c) of the Constitution, Section 33 of the County Government Act, 2012 and Nyamira County Standing Order 62.

“This Assembly resolves to remove his Excellency Amos Nyaribo from the office of County Governor of Nyamira by impeachment,” he told the House.

In ground one of the impeachment motion, Mangera accused Nyaribo of gross violation of the Constitution, the County Government Act 2012, the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2015 and the public Finance management Act, 2012 by illegal recruitment of the county staff.

The MCA accused the Governor of supervising the recruitment and appointment of Godfrey Kiriago Nyangau and Elmelda Kemunto Nyaberi to the positions of director human resource management and human resource officer respectively without following due process.

“The recruitment did not satisfy the standards set out in law, a gross violation of Articles 10, 27(4), 56(c) and Article 232(1)(g)(i)(i-ii) of the Constitution of Kenya which require a fair competition and merit as the basis of appointments,” he said.

“The Governor single-handedly instructed or colluded with the chairperson county public service board to issue letters of appointment to the two officers against the law and the knowledge of the CEO Nyamira county public service board,” the notice of motion reads.

In the second count, Nyaribo is accused of disobeying Employment and Labour Relations Court orders that nullified the Appointment of Godfrey Kiriago and Elmelda Nyaberi in 2021.

Huge appetite

In ground three, Governor Nyaribo is accused of non-compliance with the law on development as stated in section 107 of the public Finance Management ACT (2012) which requires that the county government dedicate and apply a minimum of 30 per cent of its budget towards development expenditure.

“The Governor supervised over a budget implementation that was at variance with the law and that depicted huge appetite for recurrent expenditure as opposed to the actual development that should have been delivered to the people of Nyamira,” he quoted the Auditor General report for the Financial year 2021/2022.

As a result, the petition claimed, the people of Nyamira were denied public goods and services valued at Sh444.5 million.

The governor has been at loggerheads with his deputy James Gesami.

Other grounds of impeachment include illegal removal of the chief executive of the county public service board as the accounting officer and the appointment of the acting accounting officer against the law.