The withdrawal comes moments after the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders refused to be involved in the motion after the High Court referred it to them.
Meru Governor, Kawira Mwangaza can breathe a sigh of relief after Nominated Member of County Assembly (MCA) Zipporah Kinya withdrew the latest impeachment motion tabled against the county boss.
The motion marked the fourth attempt in less than two years to throw the embattled governor out of office, adding to the series of political disagreements that have impacted the county.
The withdrawal comes moments after the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders refused to be involved in the motion after the High Court referred it to them.
While declining to mediate the case, the elders stated that they could not intervene in terms of political matters of the county.
A photo of Njuri Ncheke elders. /FILE
Further, the elders stated that while they were open to solving other disputes, those revolving around politics were out of their jurisdiction.
“This is politics and it entails a lot, those who want to politic let them not involve Njuri Njeke,” the elders stated.
“We are not part of politics! The Meru community is ours but we shall not be involved in the politics.”
The Njuri Ncheke is the supreme governing council of elders for the Meru people of Kenya. Also filling a judicial role, it is the apex of the Meru traditional judicial system and their edicts apply across the entire community.
Since the 17th century, the Meru people have been governed by a hierarchical structure of elected councils of elders, from the clan level up to the Njuri Ncheke Council whose membership is the highest social status a Meru man can achieve.
The elders chosen for this council are carefully selected for their maturity, composure, respectability, and integrity which is crucial as their roles demand significant wisdom, personal discipline, and deep knowledge of traditional practices.
The council operates from its main shrine in Nchiru, Tigania West, but also holds sessions at various shrines across Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties.
Functions
Among the core functions of the elders are to make and execute community laws and listen to and settle disputes. Apart from the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders, the Meru community has the Njuri Ncheke courts in its justice system.
The men and women elders who sit in these courts, hear and determine all matters but if the parties fail to agree or one is dissatisfied with a ruling given, they escalate it to the sub-county level.
If the matter is still not resolved conclusively, it is escalated to the Supreme Court which is a six-bench apex court headquartered at Nchii shrine.
The High Court acted on advice given by President William Ruto who ordered MCAs and the governor to explore an Alternative Dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism and avoid the impeachment route.
On July 26, the Meru County Assembly had to stop debating an impeachment motion against Kawira Mwangaza following a High Court order, which had asked them to temporarily stop the proceedings until it provided further directions.
The ruling was preceded by Mwangaza filing a petition challenging the planned impeachment motion on grounds that the proposal was being instigated by her political detractors.
Meanwhile, MCA Kinya, who spoke on Wednesday, July 17 at the Meru County Assembly, accused Mwangaza of abuse of office, gross misappropriation and misuse of county resources.
Entrance to the Meru High Court. /NTV