Fresh Hurdle For Kawira Mwangaza Ahead Of Impeachment Ruling
The MCAs tabled impeachment and censure motions against nine County Executive Members serving in Governor Mwangaza's cabinet
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
The woes of embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza are far from over. Several impeachment and censure motions have been tabled against her County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) in the Meru County Assembly, pending a High Court ruling on her impeachment case.
The MCAs tabled impeachment and censure motions against nine County Executive Members serving in Governor Mwangaza's cabinet, a move which could see them join the county boss in the exit path.
Among those facing impeachment and censure threats from the lawmakers are County Secretary Kiambi James Thambura and CECMs Ibrahim Mutwiri Kirimi (Roads), Monica Kathono (Finance), Harriet Makena (Sports), and Dickson Munene (Public Service), among others.
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza while at UDA headquarters in Nairobi on April 3, 2024. /PHOTO
Various MCAs tabled the ouster and censure motions before the County Assembly on Wednesday and Thursday, adding to the ongoing leadership crisis in the devolved unit.
Kawira hopes to receive a lifeline on Friday when she appears before the High Court to learn her fate in a pending case challenging her impeachment by the Senate. In December 2024, the High Court extended conservatory orders, which halted the Senate's decision to impeach her, by 120 days, leading up to this point.
On Wednesday, December 18, Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled that the decision to uphold the orders issued by the High Court in Meru allowed Mwangaza to continue discharging her gubernatorial duties before the full and final hearing that was to be set for a later date.
This means that the embattled governor continued serving in her capacity. The judge had found that a leadership vacuum in the county would lead to a crippling of operations at the county.
"I shall in this ruling confirm and extend the interim (conservatory) orders for a period of 120 days from the date hereof and in that time, the petitioner shall continue to serve as the governor of Meru county with a provision that a judgement in this matter may be rendered before the lapse of those 120 days on the date hereof," the judge ruled.
"The refusal to confirm and extend those orders would result in a gubernatorial succession in Meru County, which, in the event that the petition was to succeed in a few months, would have to be undone by this court and/or other courts at great public cost," he added.
Mwangaza was removed from office on August 21 after the Senate upheld her impeachment on grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and serious constitutional violations.
On August 8, 2024, MCAs voted to impeach her on charges of abuse of office, gross misconduct and gross violation of the Constitution and other laws.
40 out of 69 members of the county assembly voted in favour of the impeachment motion tabled by Deputy Majority Party Leader Zipporah Kinya, meeting the two-thirds threshold. Another 17 voted against the impeachment motion, while three did not vote.
