Impeached Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru (pictured) has moved to court to stop the Senate from taking any action on her removal.
Ms Waiguru was impeached on Tuesday by Kirinyiga County Assembly over claims of abuse of office and violating the Constitution but she claims the decision was reached in contempt of a court order stopping the assembly from debating her ouster.
Through lawyer Waweru Gatonye, she wants County Assembly Speaker Anthony Gathumbi and the 23 MCAs who passed the motion to impeach her, cited for contempt of court.
“We are asking the court to stop any other body from discussing, seizing, deliberating or acting upon the impeachment motion and to suspend the resolution reached by the Kirinyaga County Assembly pending determination of this suit,” said Mr Gatonye.
Waiguru wants the court to declare that the proceedings commenced by the assembly leading to her ouster were null and void for violating her right to fair administrative process and an affront to the rule of law.
Justice Weldon Korir on April 7 stopped the County Assembly from debating the motion to impeach Waiguru until July 2 when the case is scheduled for hearing.
The judge ruled that in the wake of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible to accord the governor a fair hearing and that there will be no meaningful public participation since an impeachment motion requires the assembly to collect public views.
Despite the order being in force, the assembly passed the impeachment motion and has handed its report to Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka.
Waiguru contests that she was not given a fair chance to defend herself and the resolution was a mockery of justice.
She claims she was not even informed of the impeachment motion and only became aware of it on Monday night when she was alerted that some MCAs had decided to spend the night at the County Assembly premises.
“The tabling, discussion and passing of the impeachment motion was a lack of respect and abuse of the court process,” said Gatonye.
The suit is set for hearing today.
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