Kericho Governor Erick Mutai survives 2nd impeachment
Kericho Governor Erick Mutai has survived a second impeachment attempt by the County Assembly, cementing his grip on power despite mounting political pressure.
The division of votes cast by senators on Friday, August 29, 2025, resulted in 16 ayes, 26 nays, and 1 abstention, falling short of the threshold required to remove the governor from office.
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Speaker of the Senate, Amason Kingi, while giving the final verdict after the voting process, stated that since the Senate found the threshold of 32 Members of the County Assembly had not been met, the impeachment proceedings would immediately terminate and the Senate would not proceed to hear the charges.
He added that the results of the division showed the threshold was not achieved, which consequently led to the termination of the impeachment hearing.
“In the event that the Senate finds the 32-member threshold of the county assembly was not met, then the impeachment proceedings shall immediately terminate and the Senate shall not proceed to determine the impeachment charges,” Kingi said.
“The results of the division indicated that the results has been negative; consequently, the impeachment hearing is hereby terminated.”
Impeachment process
The motion to oust him was launched on August 15, 2025, after 33 of the 47 Kericho MCAs voted in support of the motion, crossing the constitutional threshold.
The County Assembly accused the governor of misconduct, misuse of public resources, unlawful staff dismissals, and authorising questionable payments.
In response, Mutai’s legal team challenged the credibility of the electronic voting system used at the Assembly. Several MCAs appearing before the Senate claimed they had not cast votes for the impeachment and had never been trained to use the digital platform, raising doubts that the tally accurately reflected their decisions.
Back in October 2024, an earlier motion to remove him from office collapsed when his lawyers convinced the Senate that the motion lacked the constitutionally required two-thirds majority. Only 31 members supported it instead of the mandatory 32, prompting the Senate to throw out the case on procedural grounds.
Charges
The charges that faced Mutai fell under three main categories: gross violation of the Constitution and other laws, abuse of office, and gross misconduct.
This marks the second time Mutai has faced impeachment since assuming office, underscoring deep divisions in the county assembly ahead of the 2027 elections.
