Nairobi, March 14 : Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza has suffered a setback after the High Court dismissed her bid to overturn her impeachment by the Senate.
Delivering the ruling on Friday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye said that Mwangaza’s petition did not meet the threshold required to quash the impeachment and consequently validated a gazette notice communicating her ouster from office.
"The court has assessed the totality of the impeachment process and found that she was given ample opportunity to present her case and respond to allegations levelled against her," he said.
Mwangaza felt that the impeachment process was unfair because senators were given too little time to debate the motion and because the process was handled messily. She believed this affected the fairness of the process.
However, the judge said that these claims were not proven enough to support her case.
Unless Mwangaza secures an order staying the High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal, Meru’s deputy governor Isaac Mutuma M'Ethingia will take office as governor.
A Methodist Church minister and former prison officer, he is the son of the late Paul M'Ethingia, who was the chairman of the Njuri Ncheke council.
He gained prominence in February 2022 when he was selected as Governor Mwangaza's running mate.
Governor Mwangaza, also the bishop of Baite Family Fellowship Church, chose Mutuma as her running mate after "extensive prayer and consultations".
"He joins a team of smart brains and servants of the people. I could not appoint him without prayers," Mwangaza said then.
The DG acknowledged that while he did not have experience in political office, he took it as a divine calling.
"I will take this as a calling from heaven and a divine assignment to serve God's holy mandate in the high office of deputy governor of Meru," Mutuma said then.
The deputy governor holds a higher diploma in Forensic Psychology and Criminology from the Kenya Institute of Studies in Criminal Justice, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from Kenya Methodist University (KeMU).
If Mutuma is sworn in as governor, he will need to choose a deputy governor.
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the position of deputy governor cannot be filled by another election. It also decided that there should not be a gap in the deputy governor’s office until the next General Election.
The Supreme Court then provided guidelines on how to fill the deputy governor vacancy.
The judges said that governors can make new nominations within 14 days to replace deputy governors who resign, die in office, or are impeached. These nominees must then be approved by the county assembly within 60 days.
Once approved, the new deputy governor will take an oath of office.
The judges also ruled that if both the governor and deputy governor positions are vacant at the same time, the deputy governor’s office should stay vacant until a new governor is elected.
