Kericho governor impeachment: Kingi intervenes as key documents missing
It was a tense moment on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, August 28, 2025, when Kericho Governor Eric Mutai attempted to introduce fresh defence documents in his ongoing impeachment trial.
Through his lead counsel, Katwa Kigen, Mutai’s legal team asked the Senate to allow the inclusion of an affidavit by an IT expert, Oguya, who analysed digital logs presented by the County Assembly of Kericho.
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“I have an application to make. The governor’s case requires us to have expertise in IT.
“We kindly request leave to rely on the report made by Mr Oguya, who has sworn an affidavit, having analysed the logs the County Assembly of Kericho presented. We request its accommodation.
“We plead with you to allow us to rely on the affidavit,” Kigen said.
However, the request immediately drew opposition from the County Assembly’s lawyer, Elias Mutuma.
He argued that the application was deliberately timed to patch up gaps in the governor’s defence.
“Mr Speaker, sir, my name is Elias Mutuma for the County Assembly. The application for my learned friend, Katwa Kigen, is opposed.
“Mr Speaker, you will realise that the application is being made in the middle of the trial, where our expert witness is already on the stand.
‘This is an attempt to patch up the case. The affidavit of our witness was served to the counsel of the governor on Monday, and there was no attempt to file a counter petition,” Mutuma told the Senate.
Speaker Kingi weighs in
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, who is presiding over the trial, raised concerns over the late filing.
“So this document wasn’t contained in the original bundle,” Kingi remarked, noting that introducing it midway risked disrupting the fairness of proceedings.
The intervention set the chamber abuzz, as senators weighed whether to allow the governor’s legal team to bolster its defence or proceed strictly with the original bundle of documents.
The impeachment of Governor Mutai, accused of abuse of office and mismanagement, has gripped national attention, with the Senate trial seen as a litmus test for accountability in county governments.
As the trial resumes, all eyes remain on how Speaker Kingi will balance fairness, due process, and the integrity of the Senate proceedings.
