On Thursday, August 8, MCAs voted to impeach her on charges of abuse of office, gross misconduct and gross violation of the Constitution and other laws.
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has been impeached for the third time by the Meru County Assembly.
On Thursday, August 8, MCAs voted to impeach her on charges of abuse of office, gross misconduct and gross violation of the Constitution and other laws.
40 out of 69 members of the county assembly voted in favour of the impeachment motion tabled by Deputy Majority Party Leader Zipporah Kinya, meeting the two-thirds threshold. Another 17 voted against the impeachment motion, while three did not vote.
Earlier, chaos and disruptions rocked the Meru County Assembly ahead of the debate on the fifth ouster motion against the clearly embattled governor.
Standoff between Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s supporters and rival groups at Meru County Assembly as MCAs debate Mwangaza’s 5th impeachment motion on August 8, 2024. /X
Some pro-Mwangaza officials had clashed with their counterparts who were in support of the impeachment motion outside the Meru County Assembly.
From several videos, the officials were recorded engaging each other in a conversation before turning into pull-and-push altercations. The reason for their confrontation was not immediately established by the time of publishing this story.
The latest move adds to the times she has faced impeachment since her election as governor in the 2022 August general elections.
She survived two of them before this one, thanks to the Senate, which she will rely on to save her fortunes for the third successive time.
Mwangaza was first impeached in December 2022 but was saved by the Senate on December 30, 2022. She was again impeached by the Meru MCAs on October 26, 2023, but the senate again threw out the charges fronted against her.
On July 30, Kinya withdrew the latest impeachment motion tabled against the county boss. This 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 came 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.
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza speaking during an address on July 17, 2024. /KAWIRA MWANGAZA