Three Bomet county ministers impeached in escalation of Barchok fallout with MCAs
It was a night of political bloodletting as three County Executive Committee (CEC) members were impeached on Friday, August 30 for gross violation of the 2010 Constitution and other laws, incompetence and abuse of office.
Mr Erick Kipkoech Ngetich, the CEC for Roads, Public Works and Transport, Dr Joseph Kirui (Administration, Public Service and Special Programmes) and Mr Andrew Kimutai Sigei (Finance and Economic Planning) failed to appear before the respective Select Committees handling their impeachment to defend themselves.
All 29 of the 38 MCAs present in the House at the time voted unanimously to remove the CECs from office, finding them guilty as charged, with none abstaining or voting in support of the County Executive Committee members in a process that lasted late into Friday night.
It was the first impeachment of a CEC in Bomet County in the last 11 years of devolution in the country.
The process was triggered by a fallout between Governor Hillary Barchok and the 38 MCAs over claims by the governor that each of the 25 counties had been allocated Sh96 million for development projects through 10 departments.
But the MCAs have denied the claim, leading to a public spat between the MCAs and the governor, with members of the public demanding answers and identification of projects funded in the last two years after the August 9, 2022, general elections.
Bomet County Assembly Speaker Cosmas Korir said all legal procedures had been followed in impeaching the CECs and that the county ministers had been repeatedly invited to appear, plead and defend themselves to no avail.
“All your contribution has gone towards making Bomet a better place, we want the government to succeed (in its undertakings to serve the people)…there was no witch-hunting as the process was free and fair,” Mr Korir said upon the verdict in the three cases being returned as a unanimous vote to impeach the office holders.
“The Select Committees that dealt with the cases now stand officially dissolved by the house having made a decision to impeach the CECs,” Mr Korir stated.
Mr Korir said as a result of the vote in the House, the CECs who did not defend themselves legally are no longer in office. This gives Professor Barchok the impetus to select nominees and forward their names to the Assembly for screening and approval for appointment.
Bomet County Assembly Speaker Cosmas Korir (centre), Deputy Speaker Leonard Rotich (left) and Majority Leader Paul Kirui (right) lead the MCAs at a press conference on July 15 where they announced the impeachment of three County Executive Committee (CEC) members for gross violation of various laws in the country.
The CECs, through their common lawyer Desmond Leteipa, had asked for the hearings to be postponed, claiming that they had not been served with the charges in time and that they would appear at another date.
However, the committee proved that the parties had been served through their lawyer, who attended a pre-trial hearing last Friday.
Mr Leteipa admitted that he had received an electronic mail scheduling his clients' appearance in court.
Despite the fact that Mr Ngetich, Mr Sigei and Dr Kirui were granted extensions of one day each by the respective Committees to enable them to enter a plea, with their lawyer stating that they would appear in person, they still failed to appear at the appointed time.
Mr Leteipa declined to enter a plea on behalf of his three clients, stating that they would prefer to enter their own plea and thereafter submit written submissions in defence to the committee.
Singorwet MCA Josephat Kipkirui presented the impeachment motion against Mr Ngetich to the select committee chaired by Kapletundo Ward MCA Peter Ronoh.
Mr Ngetich was found guilty of gross violation of the 2010 Constitution and abuse of office, leading to his impeachment.
He was accused of incurring pending bills of Sh594,650,580 which has been described as suspicious as of April 26, 2023, in the backdrop of misappropriation of funds in the Department of Roads.
“A total of Sh237,913,412 in the department of roads were marked as eligible bills while Sh294,797,101 were itemized as ineligible by the Controller of Budget reports” Mr Kipkirui stated.
It has been claimed that while Sh359 million had been spent as of April 2024, marking 100 per cent absorption of development funds as per the Controller of Budget's report, there was allegedly nothing to show for it on the ground.
Furthermore, out of the Sh180 million allocated for the maintenance of inter-city roads, a total of Sh179.9 million had been spent, representing 99.9 per cent absorption, which was also questioned.
The procurement of Sh373 million in road construction equipment, which has also been flagged by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), marking a 100 per cent absorption rate, is a key plank of the impeachment process.
In documents submitted to the committee, Mr Kipkirui says there were discrepancies in the amount paid for some of the equipment from what was signed in the sales contract.
“In the Controller of Budget's report, the supplier was paid Sh 250 million while the signed agreement between the parties indicates Sh244,425,410. Still, the insurance cover shows the vehicles were insured for Sh 232 million” Mr Kipkirui stated.
Mr Kipkirui said, “The road equipment is lying at the Public Works offices and has been exposed to risks of vandalism as they are under the operation and custody of casual employees.”
Despite the Sh40 million allocated to fuel the equipment, only eight out of 25 districts have benefited from the construction of six kilometres of roads each in the past year.
The CEC is alleged to have presided over the disposal of county government vehicles in contravention of the Public Assets Disposal Act and failed to submit a report on the condition of the vehicles, their sale value and the mismanagement of 216 vehicles belonging to the devolved government unit.
Mr Ngetich was also accused of refusing to provide the portfolio committee on roads and public works with detailed expenditures on projects and a list of roads constructed, despite repeated requests.
“Out of the Sh603 million set aside for road construction, a total of Sh442. 9 million was spent yet there is nothing to show for it on the ground. The department has the highest amount of pending bills at Sh676 million which can only point to fraudulent transactions” Mr Mutai said.
In a motion filed by Kimulot ward MCA Erick Kirui, Mr Sigei was accused of failure to ensure the County Fiscal Strategy Paper and the County Annual Development Plan were published, which contravenes the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.
Mr Sigei was accused of failing to submit payroll and other payroll-related costs occasioning the processing of Sh 283.37 million through manual payrolls representing 11.6 per cent of the total personnel emoluments costs.
Mr Sigei allegedly failed to submit to the county assembly the County Finance Bill and revenue-raising measures for the Financial Years 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
He failed to appear before the Special Committee on Finance chaired by Ernest Kipkemoi Rotich, the Mogogosiek ward representative, to defend himself from the charges, despite being repeatedly accorded a chance.
The documents filed at the assembly indicate that the Controller of Budget in its April 2024 budget implementation review report for the first nine months of the Financial Year 2023-2024, flagged illegal operation of two bank accounts in the county.
“The county government of Bomet operated the County Executive Bursary
Fund and the Car and Mortgage Funds using commercial bank accounts contrary to regulations 82(1)(b) of the Public Finance Management Act (county governments) Act, 2015” Mr Kirui stated.
The regulations stipulate that county government bank accounts must be opened and maintained with the Central Bank of Kenya.
“The county at the beginning of Financial year 2023/2024 had a stock of pending bills amounting to Sh 897.93 million, comprising Sh 156.24 million for recurrent expenditure and Sh 741.69 million for development activities” Mr Kirui stated.
Mr Sigei faces claims of failing to ensure the county has sufficient revenue streams which has led to perennial failure by the devolved government unit to meet its own source revenue target.
In the 2023-2024 Financial Years, the county collected Sh 157,105,283 against the Sh 332,041,830 that was budgeted for, according to the reports filed.
The CEC allegedly failed to ensure that the wage bill did not exceed 35 per cent of the county government's total revenue as the Auditor General's report in April 2024 stated that it was 44 per cent, which is 9 per cent higher than the set limit.
Mr Kipkemoi ordered Mr Sigei to appear before the committee on August 23, following a request by his lawyer who appeared on his behalf, but he failed to show up.
Dr Kirui in an impeachment sponsored by nominated MCA Vincent Kattam, was accused of engaging in gross misconduct and violation of the Penal Code (Cap 63) and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012, by attempting to cause physical harm to Bernard Langat within the precincts of the county offices.
“The CEC has violated the National Social Security Fund Act, the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act, by failing to ensure timely remittance of statutory deductions, causing the county government to accrue a significant debt to NSSF and NHIF and thus exposing county staff to distress” Mr Kattam stated.
He also faced claims of unprocedural renewal of employment contracts for sub-ward administrators in a manner that usurped the role of the County
Public Service Board and undermined established public service regulations.
