Court halts debate on petition to impeach Nyeri DG Karugu

The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has stopped the Nyeri County Assembly from discussing a public petition seeking to impeach Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu from office, pending the hearing of the suit.

In the orders issued on Friday, Justice Nzioki wa Makau also certified as urgent the application by the deputy county boss seeking to stop her impeachment.

In the application, Nyeri County Secretary Benjamin Gachichio and Governor Mutahi Kahiga are listed as the first and second respondents

The County Assembly of Nyeri, its Speaker John Kaguchia, county assembly clerk and the county government of Nyeri are the third, fourth, fifth and sixth respondents respectively.

In his orders, the judge prevented the respondents from tabling and deliberating Ms Karugu’s impeachment at the county assembly, as well as making any decision or putting to a vote a motion to the petition, pending the hearing of the suit.

Hearing

“The application is to proceed for hearing on October 19, 2021 before any Labour court judge in Nairobi since the presiding judge of Nyeri Justice Njagi Marete is away on leave,” adds the judge in his orders.

Ms Karugu moved to court after three Nyeri residents — Mr James Muringo, Ms Agnes Wanjiku and Ms Lilian Wambui — presented the public petition to the county assembly.

In the petition, they want Ms Karugu impeached from office on the grounds that she has been absconding her official duties by failing to report to work for more than two years in a row.

She is also accused of absenting herself from the county executive committee meetings despite being a member.

Ms Karugu is further accused of insubordination of county government projects by failing to adhere to protocol.

According to the residents, Ms Karugu allegedly walks into public meetings way after the governor has arrived, thus exposing him to shame and ridicule.

Other accusations are that she has abused her office by assigning a non-accredited driver to drive an official county government vehicle.

Accident

The said driver allegedly caused an accident along the Chaka- State Lodge road and the incident was reported to Naromoru Police Station.

But Ms Karugu allegedly concealed the details of the accident and personally repaired the vehicle, an act which was unprocedural.

“She has also been using the county vehicle to run personal errands,” reads the petition.

The deputy county boss has also been allegedly running parallel programmes withopen defiance to the county government of Nyeri for personal political mileage.

The residents say that the funds used in her programmes are allegedly gotten from organisations like the Kenya Pipeline which she viciously hijacks for her personal gains.

Salary withheld

But in her court documents, Ms Karugu says that some of the issues in the petition are to be discussed in a suit already before the court.

In the suit, she accuses Governor Kahiga and County Secretary Benjamin Gachichio of withholding her salaries, emoluments and allowances since 2019.

The two are also accused of locking her office for the whole of 2020 and side-lining her from county executive meetings and programmes.

Ms Karugu argues that the public petition is a sabotage of the proceedings already before the court.

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