Taita Finance executive faces impeachment over abuse of office, gross misconduct
Public Accounts Committee chairperson Anselm Mwadime addresses journalists at the Taita Taveta County Assembly in Wundanyi. Some MCAs have started the process of impeaching Finance and Economic Planning executive Andrew Kubo.
Some Taita Taveta County ward representatives have started the process of impeaching Finance and Economic Planning executive Andrew Kubo.
MCAs on the assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) accused Mr Kubo of incompetence, abuse of office, gross misconduct and gross violation of the Constitution, among other claims.
They say he has also undermined the House by ignoring summons from the committee six times to shed light on several issues, including corruption allegations and pending bills.
The committee said Governor Granton Samboja’s administration has accumulated pending bills of about Sh1 billion since 2017 and that Mr Kubo had failed to advise the executive on proper spending of budgeted funds.
PAC chairperson Anselm Mwadime said the committee initiated the impeachment process after Mr Kubo failed to honour his constitutional and legal obligations to the committee.
He said several MCAs support the petition.
"Because he has declined to cooperate with the committee, we have no choice but to seek his removal. We have done our role as a committee and I want to assure residents that we have no malice in this process," he said.
PAC member Chanzu Kamadi said 15 of the assembly’s 34 MCAs had signed the petition to impeach Mr Kubo.
The petition, submitted to Speaker Meshack Maghanga on Monday, will be discussed by the Business Committee before it is tabled in the House for debate.
Mr Kubo is then expected to appear before the committee to defend himself.
Mr Kamadi, who is also Chala ward MCA, said they are confident the petition meets the required threshold to warrant the impeachment of Mr Kubo.
He said Mr Kubo is an obstacle to the implementation of development projects.
Though the county government had hit its revenue collection target, he said, contractors were suffering because they were not being paid promptly.
"We are doing this because he has failed in his role of advising the executive on proper utilisation and disbursement of funds. That is why there is speculation that some funds have been embezzled," he said.
The MCAs’ action comes after a public outcry that they had failed to execute their oversight role.
But MCAs opposing the impeachment plan accused their colleagues of a political witch-hunt.
Marungu MCA Paul Waweru said the petition is misguided and defended Mr Kubo’s performance.
He also claimed that the petitioners had forged some of the signatures to initiate the impeachment motion.
"Since the start of devolution, Mr Kubo is the first County Executive Committee (CEC) member to surpass the revenue target. These are personal reasons and incitement behind the impeachment. There are no grounds to impeach the CEC," he said.
He rejected claims that some of the MCAs were compromised to oppose the motion.
