Kericho Governor Erick Mutai Escapes Impeachment

The Senate has terminated the impeachment hearing of Kericho Governor Eric Mutai on a procedural technicality

Governor Mutai survived the impeachment on Monday, October 14 after 34 senators voted to discontinue the hearing against 10 voted in support. There were no absentees.

“Honourable Senators, the result for the division is as follows; Ayes are 34, Nays 10 and abstention at zero so the ayes have it,” Senate Speaker Amason Kingi announced, adding “Honourable senators, the motion having been approved, the hearing proceedings on the proposed removal from office by the impeachment of honourable Dr Erick Kimutai, the Governor of Kericho County, hereby terminates and the senate now stands adjourned.”

34 Senators voted to uphold Governor Mutai’s objection in a delegation electronic vote. Governor Mutai had argued the county assembly failed to achieve the two-thirds threshold required by Law a matter that was disputed by various Senators.

Inside the Kenyan Senate chambers. /PARLIAMENT KENYA

Senators took to the ballot to determine the objection of the two-thirds threshold raised by the governor where 31 MCAs out of 47 voted in support of Mutai’s ouster.

“The High Court has already pronounced itself on the matter of rounding off a decimal to the nearest whole number in the case of Tana River County,” Senator Enoch Wambua of Kitui chimed in.

On his part, Counsel Elias Mutuma stated, “It is a scientific fact that 47 MCAs divided by two-thirds is 31.3 MCAs. It is not possible for a human being to be a fraction. What do you want the Governor to prove?”

Counsel Hillary Kiplangat argued, “The Speaker of the County Assembly of Kericho was guided by a decision of the High Court that when rounding off, one round off to the nearest whole number. Two-thirds of the Kericho County Assembly is 31.3 MCAs rounding off to 31 members.”

Earlier, the embattled county boss denied all the charges brought against him by the Kericho County Assembly as his impeachment hearing kicked off before the Senate. Appearing before Senators on the first day of the proceedings, Governor Mutai rejected every accusation read to him by Clerk of the Senate, Jeremiah Nyegenye, asserting his innocence in the face of allegations that threaten his leadership.

The Accusations

Governor Mutai faced a wide array of accusations, with the most prominent being gross violation of the Constitution and mismanagement of County Finances. The County Assembly alleged that the Governor misappropriated, misallocated and engaged in illegal drawings of County Revenue and County Finances. The charges accused him of violating several provisions of the law, including Articles 10, 183, and 201 of the Constitution, as well as Sections 102 and 109 of the Public Finance Management Act.

One of the issues raised against the Governor was his alleged refusal to implement an automated system for revenue collection, despite the requirements of the Kericho County Rating Act No. 5 of 2019. According to the Assembly, this failure to automate revenue collection left the County’s Finances vulnerable to pilferage, misappropriation and theft leading to significant revenue losses.

In addition, Governor Mutai was accused of obstructing the implementation of a tender awarded on 14th December 2023, for the procurement of the Integrated County Revenue Management System. Despite the tender being responsive, the County Assembly claimed that the Governor frustrated the process, allegedly preventing crucial improvements in the County’s Revenue Management System.

The Assembly further accused him of disregarding a Valuation Roll that had been prepared and passed by the County Assembly back in 2016 and continuing to collect property rates based on an outdated Valuation Roll, which has resulted in substantial revenue losses for the County.

Another accusation levelled against the Governor involved the launch of the ‘Equalizer Kazi Mtaani’ Initiative. According to the charges, the Governor launched the programme on August 31, 2023, and allocated County funds to it without any legislative backing. Moreover, the initiative was allegedly undertaken without public participation or approval from both the County Assembly and the Controller of Budget, raising further concerns about transparency and accountability.

The County Assembly also blamed Governor Mutai for misusing the County Emergency Fund in response to the Londiani accident, in which several victims were compensated using public funds. The Assembly argued that the Governor’s actions were a cover-up for funds that had been raised by the public to support the victims but were misappropriated by a committee formed by the Governor to steer the fundraising efforts. Over Ksh9 million of public-raised funds reportedly went missing and the Assembly held the Governor accountable for this misappropriation.

In the second charge of abuse of office, Governor Mutai stood accused of making illegal appointments, carrying out unlawful dismissals and transferring employees in violation of the law. The County Assembly claimed that the Governor usurped the constitutional and statutory functions of the County Public Service Board and in doing so not only violated the rights of County employees but also undermined the integrity of the county administration. In addition, the Assembly accused Governor Mutai of impeding the oversight role of the County Assembly which is constitutionally mandated to hold the executive accountable.

On the question of gross misconduct, Governor Mutai was accused of engaging in acts of bullying, incitement and vilification of political opponents. He was also accused of indecent sexual conduct. The charges detailed multiple complaints of the Governor’s indecent and unnatural sexual behaviour by several women, who claim that the Governor forced them into unconsented anal sex and engaged in other forms of dangerous and unprotected sexual activity. These allegations, the Assembly argued constitute gross misconduct and unfitness to hold public office.

Governor Mutai becomes the sixth governor to survive impeachment. Others who narrowly survived impeachment are Mwangi wa Iria former Governor of Murang’a, Paul Chepkwony former Governor of Kericho, Granton Samboja former Governor of Taita Taveta and the late Nderitu Gachagua of Nyeri all of whom survived their ouster.

Other than former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, no governor has ever been successfully impeached since the position itself was created following the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution…including intervention from the courts.