Nyaoga commission on Makueni County orders arrest of witness for lying

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana listening to the Makueni Dissolution Commission Public Hearing at KICC. [PHOTO: STANDARD/FILE]

NAIROBI: The commission probing a petition to dissolve Makueni County government yesterday ordered the arrest of a witness for allegedly lying under oath.

Commission Chairman Mohamed Nyaoga ordered Wote criminal investigations (CID) officers to arrest Peter Mwanthi and another man called Mambo Ngundi and present them before the commission.

Mr Mwanthi, a former councillor appeared at the commission on Wednesday and said he was representing the interests of a lobby group called Makueni County Amani Association.

But when pushed by Governor Kivutha Kibwana's counsel and the executive to table evidence that he had been sent by the group, Mwanthi said the lobby's documents were with the group's secretary who he said was in Busia.

INCITING PUBLIC

The lawyer pressed him to give the secretary's mobile phone number which was later traced by the CID at Wote town.

"As of yesterday afternoon, the owner of that number was still in Wote town," a CID officer told the commission, prompting the chairman to order for the arrest of the two.

The mobile number belongs to Mr Ngundi.

Mwanthi contradicted himself when he said part of his statement was drawn by the assembly's lawyer yet he purpoted to represent a neutral entity.

"Arrest those two and present them before this commission before they flee to Busia," ordered Mr Nyaoga.

During the hearings, Leader of Majority at the Makueni County Assembly Francis Mutuku sought to absolve the house of any blame in the political upheavals rocking the county.

Appearing for the first time before the commission, Mr Mutuku turned the heat on the executive arm of the county government and accused Prof Kibwana of inciting the public against members of the assembly.

While being cross examined by Mbovu Kyalo, the counsel for the petitioners on why the Sand Conservation and Utilisation Bill was passed without any input from the public after a five month’s delay, Mutuku said the house did so to escape the wrath of the public whom he said had been incited by the governor.

Mr Kyalo said the delay caused the government huge losses in revenue.

“We delayed the bill because we wanted to seek public participation but finally gave in and passed it under duress as initially drawn because the governor had incited the public to cast the house in bad light,” Mutuku said.

Earlier, Mutuku had told the commission that the public was opposed to the bill as initially drawn thus the delay to seek their input.

“The public was opposed to some aspects of the bill thus the delay to take their views on board. We had also scheduled a meeting with the executive to discuss the bill with a view to amend it but they cancelled the meeting at the eleventh hour,” he noted.

PARTY POSITION

Kyalo took issue with Mutuku’s statement which he said was hurriedly cobbled up and too short, not befitting the position of leader of majority.

“Did you expect his statement to be longer because of his position?” posed Nyaoga.

“Chair, I am curious because you realise Mr Mutuku also goes by the nickname Musso which implies that he does big things,” replied Kyalo, sending the crowd into laughter.

Mutuku also dismissed assertions that the assembly had enacted Ward Development Fund Act 2013 which would take up the lion’s share of the county development budget to be overseen by the MCAs at the ward level.

“That is not true. The funds were to be overseen by the executive in charge of finance or his representative at the village level. The MCAs had nothing to do with it,” said Mutuku.

He said the fund, which was to take up Sh1.2 billion in 2013 financial year, was to fast-track development at the ward level.

Asked why he facilitated the impeachment of Governor Kibwana despite express instructions from Wiper party to rally its members against the move, Mutuku said he had no control over individual members’ decision on the matter.

“The party’s position was against the impeachment of the governor. I relayed the same information to the party MCAs but they decided to go against that stand. There is democracy and I was not expected to coerce them on the party’s position,” he said.

Mutuku also denied claims from the petitioners that the two arms of the county government were operating at “extreme loggerheads” saying that there was still hope for reconciliation.