Governor Mwangaza’s Impeachment Petition Thrown Out by Court of Appeal
Governor Kawira Mwangaza of Meru has suffered a setback after the Court of Appeal in Nyeri denied her petition to halt her impeachment.
In their decision, Justices Jamila Mohamed, Luka Kimaru, and Aggrey Muchelule determined that the court lacked the authority to hear Kawira’s petition.
The three-judge bench noted that it could not initially intervene in the impeachment of the appellant due to the law’s strict timelines for the impeachment procedure.
“This Court lacks jurisdiction in the first instance to consider the merits of the applicant’s application which sought Conservatory Orders before the impeachment process has run its constitutional and legal course,” reads the court documents.
The judges also emphasized that if Kawira is impeached, she will have a second chance to present her case to the Senate during the impeachment hearing.
“Even after the Senate makes its decision, the applicant still has the avenue of petitioning the Court for appropriate relief, if the decisions were to go against her. We are, therefore, of the considered view that the applicant’s right to be heard will not be circumscribed,” added the judges.
In her petition, Kawira argued that some of the issues for which she sought impeachment were sub judice and pending Court determination.
She also criticized the entire impeachment process and its supporting grounds, arguing that they did not meet the constitutional requirement for removing a popularly elected governor from office via impeachment.
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The embattled governor also argued that the County Assembly has been biased against her from the beginning and has used its authority to thwart her administration, arguing that impeachment proceedings before the County Assembly would not be equitable.
Wednesday, the Meru County Assembly unanimously impeached Mwangaza for, among other accusations, misuse of public funds, gross misconduct, and contempt of the county assembly and court.
This is the second attempt by the MCAs of Meru County to remove Governor Kawira, with whom they have been at odds since she took office.
She was impeached by the Assembly for the first time in December 2022, but an 11-member Senate Special Committee appointed to investigate the grounds for her impeachment concluded that none of the charges against her were proved.
The fate of Mwangaza now rests with the Senate, which is anticipated to either uphold or reverse the impeachment.
The Senate has the option of either forming a special committee of 11 Senators to investigate the matter or debating the impeachment resolution as a House.
Governor Mwangaza’s Impeachment Petition Thrown Out by Court of Appeal
