Senators set to take stand on Kivutha Kibwana's ouster

Governor Kivutha Kibwana was impeached by Makueni MCAs on claims of incompetence.

The Senate is still weighing its options on Governor Kivutha Kibwana’s ouster by Makueni County Assembly after a court order blocked the House from acting on the matter.

The Standard has established that the House is in a dilemma on whether to proceed with the impeachment process or wait until the court lifts the interim orders barring it from considering the issue.

Senators are also exploring the option of moving to the Supreme Court to seek an advisory on the matter, taking into account that the constitutional timeline set to determine the issue is fast elapsing.

The Senate leadership meeting in Mombasa ventilated on the subject exhaustively but failed to take a conclusive position, owing to the fact that the House Rules and Business Committee (RBC) is yet to make a decision.

Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki confirmed that the Makueni issue was one of their topic agendas and discussed in their closed-door meeting. But he declined to give more details.

Informal meeting

Last week, the senator conveyed a speaker’s kamukunji (informal sitting) to deliberate on the Makueni impasse but the senators also did not agree, and referred the matter to RBC.

A senator who requested not to be named affirmed tomorrow will be the D-day for the House to make its stand known. “We agreed to make our decision public on Tuesday. Time is not on our side,” he added.

The Standard has also noted the general concern among senators that defying a court order will have repercussions, and might amount to nothing if the court rules contrary to the Senate’s position.

“Whichever verdict we take, it will have its merits and demerits. We must be cautious not to overstep the mandate of another arm of Government. Seeking an advisory from the Supreme Court will address some of these challenges with the Judiciary,” said another senator.

After the assembly passed the impeachment Motion, the Constitution requires the speaker communicates with Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro within two days.