Meru County grinds to a halt as Governor Kawira Mwangaza fights for political survival
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.
Operations in Meru County have ground to a halt due to an unresolved political dispute and a cash crunch facing the county government.
Although impeached Governor Kawira Mwangaza has blocked her removal from office by the courts, she is yet to regain the legitimacy of the county assembly that ousted her.
The bad blood between Ms Mwangaza's executive and the county assembly has exacerbated the crisis as the two arms of the county government are in a constant battle for supremacy.
On Saturday, Ms Mwangaza said the feud with the MCAs had badly affected her development agenda.
She said the ward representatives had cut funding for her pet pro-poor projects as well as several ongoing development programmes.
The county assembly also rejected her nominee for county attorney, as well as her Meru Municipality board nominees.
“We are hoping that the MCAs will change their minds and allocate funds for projects we had requested. They denied us funds for completing some of the stalled projects. We expect them to reconsider when we prepare a supplementary budget,” Ms Mwangaza said.
Meru County Secretary Kiambi Atheru lamented that the county assembly has been rejecting proposals presented by the executive due to bad blood between the governor and the MCAs.
“Ms Mwangaza came into office with a different approach from previous administrations. She is keen on pro-the-poor programmes and efficiency in service delivery. However, this did not augur well with the establishment. Initiatives such as the one cow per needy family programme and construction of a rehabilitation centre have stalled due to the squabbles,” Mr Atheru said.
But House Majority Whip Jim Muchui accused the executive of sleeping on the job and failing to present vital policy documents to the assembly.
“There is nothing happening in the executive. The county government is at a standstill because of the delay by the courts to give a determination on the impeachment of Meru governor,” Mr Muchui said.
Minority leader Mwenda Ithili said the county had ground to a halt because the governor was focused on saving her political career.
“Many classrooms which were allocated funds during Mwangaza’s first year in office have stalled. We had allocated funds for murraming of roads but this was not done. We are hoping the courts will rule in our favour to allow this administration to get back to work,” Mr Ithili said.
Ms Mwangaza's decision to have all county roads maintained by the national government's Mechanical Trust Fund (MTF) was also opposed by the MCAs and Senator Kathuri Murungi.
They said the allocation of more than Sh500 million to a national government body was undoing the gains of devolution.
Eager to resume her duties, Ms Mwangaza has again appealed to the MCAS for reconciliation, days after the High Court postponed a decision on whether to set aside orders keeping her in office.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye was due to rule on the Senate's application to set aside the orders blocking her removal from office on Friday last week but set a new date of December 18, 2024.
Ms Mwangaza's lawyers have since opposed the Senate's application, arguing that she was duly elected by the people.
Political rivals
The embattled governor has now taken advantage of the court's fresh reprieve to extend an olive branch to her political rivals.
When she was impeached by the county assembly in August, Ms Mwangaza had the support of some 17 MCAs.
“I will write a formal letter to all MCAs through the Speaker inviting them for reconciliation. I will also send a message to every MCA. I want an open meeting with those willing to work with me. Since the court has postponed its ruling, we need to move on. Political fights will not yield any development for the wards you represent. Please let us embrace cooperation,” Ms Mwangaza said.
But Mr Ithili said they were not ready to have a meeting with an impeached governor.
"Who is she to call us for a meeting? She has no authority or legitimacy to invite us for reconciliation. Since she has permission from the courts to remain in office, let her use the time to implement the budget we passed," the minority leader said.
