Court to rule on Mwangaza's impeachment on November 11

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza will on November 1 know whether she will remain in office pending the hearing and determination of her impeachment case.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye set the ruling date after all parties, including Senate Speaker Amonson Kingi, the Council of Governors (CoG), Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, and Mwangaza herself, confirmed that they had submitted to the court all necessary evidence documents as directed last week.

The judge is expected to rule on  two separate applications filed by Mwangaza and Kingi on conservatory orders.

“Since all parties have complied with the directive to file the necessary documents, the two applications regarding the conservatory orders by Mwangaza and Kingi are reserved for ruling on Friday, November 11, 2024, at 10.30 am in open court,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.

The judge also extended the orders suspending Mwangaza’s impeachment until November, when he will decide whether to extend the orders as per her request or lift them as requested by senators and Kingi.

In their application, the senators and Kingi seek to set aside the August order that halted Mwangaza’s impeachment, asserting that the impeachment process was lawful. 

They argue that Mwangaza’s lawsuit is flawed because she only sued Speaker Kingi, while excluding the Senate and senators who voted for her removal.

“The Senate is the only body that can address the issues raised regarding the proceedings before the House,” the judge was informed.

The senators claimed that the court’s order has far-reaching implications that infringe on the Senate’s mandate, labelling Mwangaza’s petition as “incurably defective” due to the Senate’s omission from the proceedings.

They also criticised the August 21 order for violating the principles of natural justice, which ensure that parties have a right to be heard before adverse decisions are made.

In a separate application, Mwangaza urged the court to extend the orders suspending her ouster, arguing that the impeachment process in the Meru County Assembly and Senate was illegal and unconstitutional due to an existing court order barring such proceedings.

Through her lawyers, Elisha Ongoya and Elias Mutuma, Mwangaza requested Justice Mwamuye to maintain the status quo, warning that if the conservatory orders are not granted, the Deputy Governor could be sworn in, disrupting county affairs.

“We are asking you to maintain the status quo and allow the governor to continue working until the court resolves the matter,” Mutuma urged.

Mwangaza informed the court that if the orders are set aside as requested by Kingi, she will suffer irreparable damage, as her main petition would become moot.

She argued that the impeachment process was illegal and unconstitutional, citing the existing court order prohibiting the proceedings.

The court was informed that both the Senate and the county assembly ignored the judge’s order to maintain the status quo, asserting that the impeachment motion should not have been brought to the floor for debate.

“The impeachment proceedings were in defiance of a court order that prohibited the County Assembly of Meru and the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment of the governor,” Mutuma stated.

He emphasised that the Senate was aware of the court order but failed to act on it.