Why MCAs may soon find it tough to oust governors

Kawira Mwangaza

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza (centre) addressing the press outside the Senate Chambers on December 30, 2022. 

Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group

It will be a difficult task for members of county assemblies (MCAs) to impeach a governor if senators approve a raft of legislative proposals to plug gaps that currently exist in law.

Should senators crystallise the changes into a Bill and pass them, governors will no longer be victims of mischief by MCAs while facing impeachment.

Some of the proposals include putting a requirement that a governor cannot face impeachment before 12 months elapse after he or she is sworn in as well as altering the law to allow future access to public office, in case of impeachment.

Senators also want to open up reports of impeachment to amendment by the full House after a special committee consideration, as well as a demand that MCAs resolve differences through either the Senate Devolution Committee or the Deputy President-led intergovernmental forum before any impeachment proceedings.

Six-month grace period

In the proposals, second-term governors will have a six-month grace period before an impeachment motion can be brought against them while first-term governors will have 12 months.

The 12-month period for new governors is to allow for a smooth transition between one administration to the next without interference from MCAs.

Coming just a day after a Senate special committee saved Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza from being kicked out of office after just 64 days, the Senate says some of the issues brought before it as grounds for impeachment can be resolved by other organs before it gets to the House. For one, the Senate Devolution Committee will visit troubled counties to resolve disputes between MCAs and governors.

“The Senate Devolution Committee, without being prompted, can actually move to counties and sort out the problems that exist therein before such issues come to us,” said Kitui Senator Enock Wambua.

Vihiga Senator Godffrey Osostsi told Sunday Nation that having the timelines codified in law will curb malicious impeachment motions against governors.

“There was an impeachment Bill but lapsed in the previous Parliament. It needs to be revived to address some of these issues,” Mr Osostsi said.

“Impeachment is an important tool of accountability but it should not be used to demean the role of the Senate in protecting devolution. That is why we need to have an impeachment law in place, setting high thresholds for such motions,” he added.

Impeachment motion

The Senate is also proposing that an intergovernmental committee chaired by the Deputy President should be involved in problems facing a county and make efforts to resolve them before an impeachment motion is sponsored.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei is pushing for senators to have an opportunity to comment on or amend reports of special committees in case they find no grounds for impeachment.

Currently, senators are barred from discussing a report of a special committee if the team finds none of the impeachment grounds substantiated, which Mr Cherarge said is unfair.

Mr Cherargei argued that a special committee considering an impeachment motion is just like any other select committee of the Senate, whose reports are normally open for scrutiny no matter its recommendations on the issue it was investigating.

“That Standing Orders need to be reviewed. Does it mean that a special is super special and rates higher than other select committees?” Mr Cherargei posed.

According to the senator, the Meru County Assembly raised important issues against Ms Mwangaza such as spending public money at source, making roadside appointments and demeaning other leaders, which they supported with evidence but were ignored by the committee.

Mr Osotsi supported the proposal, saying, any report by a special committee should be subjected to a vote whether the claims were substantiated or not.

“We cannot have a clique of 11 people looking at issues and making the final decision without other senators having a say. What happens if we have a rogue, compromised committee?”

According to the Senate Standing Orders 80 (2), if the special committee reports that the particulars of any allegation against the governor have not been substantiated, no further action shall be taken by the House regarding the matter.

However, if the special committee finds that charges against have been substantiated, the Senate shall, after according the governor an opportunity to be heard, vote on the charges to either agree with the county assembly or save the governor.

Senators are also mulling doing away with the law barring impeached governors from running for public office, saying, it’s akin to condemning them to a life sentence. Instead, they want them barred for two election cycles only. Senators also want the process of removing a governor made as difficult as recalling a member of the National Assembly or a senator.

The process, they said, should involve the collection of signatures across the county so that it becomes as a people-driven impeachment.