Meru MCAs plan to impeach eight members of Governor Mwangaza Cabinet

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza at her official residence after separate meetings with her cabinet and section of MCAs at her official residence. [Phares Mutembei, Standard]

Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in Meru County have initiated impeachment proceedings against eight members of Governor Kawira Mwangaza's cabinet.

The ward representatives have raised numerous complaints, accusing some County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) of being disrespectful by failing to appear before the assembly to respond to various queries. As a result, the MCAs now plan to remove nearly the entire cabinet.

Among those facing impeachment are County Secretary Dr Kiambi Atheru and Health CEC Dr George Mungania. Others include Finance Executive Ibrahim Mutwiri, Trade, Tourism and Cooperatives CEC Harriet Makena, Education CEC Dr Yusuf Kithure, Water CEC Jackson Muthamia, Legal Affairs and Public Service Management CEC Dickson Munene, as well as their counterparts in Agriculture, Youth Affairs and Social Development, and Roads and Transport.

Notices of impeachment were tabled by various MCAs, citing grounds such as abuse of office, incompetence, and gross misconduct.

A common charge against almost all the executives is their failure to comply with assembly summonses to answer financial management queries. The MCAs accuse them of disregarding legal provisions that require accountability and transparency.

Majority Chief Whip and Athwana MCA Jim Muchui, who tabled the impeachment motion against the Agriculture CEC, referenced a petition presented in the assembly calling for investigations into senior executives within the devolved unit.

Mr Muchui stated that despite multiple summonses, the executives had ignored the assembly, thereby compromising accountability.

"The continued stay in office despite the indictment, financial irregularities, and disregard for oversight mechanisms poses a serious risk to the integrity of the county government, public confidence, and the prudent use of public resources," Muchui said.

He argued that the officers were in breach of Article 10 and Chapter Six of the Constitution, which emphasise integrity, accountability, and good governance.

"The deliberate refusal to respond to multiple summonses reeks of blatant contempt for the MCAs' oversight role and hinders transparency in governance.

"Zero response to the County Assembly reflects a lack of leadership, vision, and operational oversight in a critical department," Muchui added.

Nominated MCA Benson Kiriinya and Abogeta West MCA Dennis 'DMK' Kiogora tabled the impeachment motions against the County Secretary and Finance Executive, respectively.

Mr Kiriinya accused Dr Atheru of usurping the role of the County Public Service Board and gross misconduct, among other violations.

"The County Secretary has failed to honour multiple summonses, invitations, and letters from the County Assembly, thereby compromising accountability and transparency," he said.

Kiriinya added: "The CS has overstepped their authority by usurping powers that rightly belong to the County Public Service Board, particularly the deployment of officers, a function explicitly assigned to the board."

The Finance Executive was accused of failing to provide the assembly with key documents, reports, and records, including quarterly reports on expenditure by the executive arm.

Kiogora further accused Mutwiri of failing to adhere to the fiscal ceilings set during the approval of the Meru County Fiscal Strategy Paper 2024 when submitting budget estimates for the 2024–2025 financial year.

Other charges included the payment of personnel emoluments amounting to Sh22.26 million using a manual payroll.