Kitui County Assembly has suffered a setback in its plans to impeach Governor Charity Ngilu on Monday after the High Court issued orders halting the ouster bid.
Governor Ngilu moved to court on June 24, 2020, to stop the county assembly from tabling and debating the impeachment motion.
The motion to remove Ngilu from office was filed last week by Athi Ward Representative who is also the Majority Leader, Peter Kilonzo.
The MCA accused the first-time governor of gross violation of the Constitution and the County Government Act for failing to honour Senate summons and the two-third gender rule in appointments.
She was also accused of violating the constitutional right to health of the Kitui people, conflict of interest and abuse of office over the purchase of a stone crusher plant, irregular and unlawful hiring of the country secretary.
The MCAs also accused the governor of failing to dismiss from the workforce the impeached Transport, Co-operatives and Investments minister Philip Mutinda Mumo.
Further, the MCA accused Ngilu of failing to remit statutory deductions to Kenya Revenue Authority, violation of the Public Finance Management Act on the management of the county wage bill and failure to constitute the Kitui County Public Service Board.
But through her lawyers, Morris Kimuli and Martin Oloo, the governor received a reprieve after the High Court temporarily halted the assembly from tabling the motion.
The lawyers warned that proponents of the impeachment motion risk jail for contempt of a court order should they opt to continue with the ouster motion on Monday, June 29.
They claimed that movers of the motion were driven by malice and did not adhere to legal provisions in crafting the impeachment motion.
However, the Assembly announced that it would obey the court orders and put off the oyster debate until the matter is resolved.
“As lawmakers and law-abiding citizens, it’s only prudent for us to follow the law. But the governor should rest assured that her impeachment will proceed as planned once the court matter is concluded,” declared Kilonzo.
The inter-parties hearing has been slated for July 6, 2020.
Meanwhile, the impeachment motion has elicited mixed reactions among the locals.
