NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 1 – Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has invited all Members of the County Assembly for a consultative meeting on Thursday to iron out their differences.
The Governor who has been in the eye of a storm in recent days has also invited Meru County Members of Parliament and Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi for the meeting.
“As you are aware Meru County Government has been experiencing some misunderstanding for a while between the Executive and the Honorable County Assembly,” the Governor said.
The Governor and the ward representatives have been at loggerheads for days now with the bone of contention being the management of the Ward Fund.
“I am ready to discuss it with the Honourable Members of the County Assembly on its management and come up with a workable solution,” she said.
The invitation comes days after the Council of Governors (CoG) through its chair Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru met with her Meru counterpart and the leadership of the Meru County Assembly to seek a truce on the stalemate.
The meeting took place on October 28, 2022, the same day the Governor presented herself before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) where she denied claims of nepotism and corruption.
The anti-graft agency had summoned the Governor to answer to the allegations leveled against her by the ward representatives who also accuse her of being rude and disrespectful.
“It is malicious people who are behind these allegations and they want to impeach me and distract service delivery to the people of Meru County,” she said.
-Impeachment-
The County Assembly was on October 27, 2022, petitioned by a Meru resident to institute impeachment proceedings against the Governor.
Thuranira Salesio Mutuma – a human rights defender – wants Governor Mwangaza impeached over “gross misconduct and abuse of office”.
“I institute this petition the strength of the Constitution which provides that every person has an obligation to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution,” he said.
The activist who copied his letter to the County Assembly Clerk maintained that his petition has merit and asked the Assembly to act on it.
Mutuma consequently cited eleven grounds that warrant the impeachment of Governor Mwangaza.
“The Governor has violated, infringed, and threatened the Constitution and all other relevant provisions of the law hence the grounds of gross misconduct and abuse of office have merit,” Muma said.
Only four Governors have successfully been impeached from office namely: Mike Sonko (Nairobi), Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu), Martin Wambora (Embu), and Mohammed Mohamoud (Wajir).
