By Robert Kiplagat and Fred Kibor
Kenya: Four months after Embu County Assembly impeached its Governor, two governors in the Rift Valley are threatened with impeachment from their County Assemblies over various accusations.
Baringo County Governor Ben Cheboi and his Elgeiyo/Marakwet counterpart Alex Tolgos are facing uncertain future after respective County Assembly members filed notices of Motion to impeach the governors.
On Thursday evening, an MCA in Baringo County filed a notice of Motion effectively setting in Motion the process of impeaching Cheboi while in Elgeiyo Marakwet, signing of verification forms by Assembly members is on to allow the Assembly Clerk to serve the Governor with the allegations to allow him to respond.
The Motion by Churo/Amaya MCA Thomas Minito who is also the Deputy Minority leader is set to be tabled on Tuesday.
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The notice, signed by 22 MCAs indicates that Cheboi stands impeachment for violation of the law.
On the first ground of abuse of office, the MCAs cite employment of staff, shunning the minority communities and people with disabilities, youth and the marginalised.
On the second ground, the Governor is accused of misappropriating Sh50 million emergency fund.
“The PFM Act article 116 provides for the creation of an emergency fund and the Assembly has all the mandate to approve every expenditure including the emergency fund. The Governor has misappropriated Sh50 million,” reads the notice.
Cheboi is also accused of violating Public Procurement Act by failing to advertise tenders openly to the public.
The tussle between the Assembly members and the Executive has been simmering for some time now with the Governor being accused of ignoring the Assembly.
Evaded Assembly
Recently, Assembly Speaker William Kamket faulted the Sh30million Bursary scheme introduced by Governor terming it as unconstitutional as it evaded Assembly scrutiny.
Speaker Kamket threatened that should the county government spend the public money on the same, it will be illegal and will attract impeachment.
“Governors are accountable to the County Assembly and the tendencies by executive to evade the Assembly on issues such as the bursary fund, lack constitutional basis and are illegal,” said Kamket.
Governor Cheboi said he would respond to the allegations “at an appropriate moment” as it was still a notice of Motion. “As at now, I will wait and see,” said Cheboi.
In Elgeiyo Marakwet, the mover of the Motion Thomas Kigen said so far 14 MCAs out of 30 were in support of the impeachment.
MCAs have levelled three grounds for the impeachment of Tolgos which include incompetence in the discharge of his duties, lack of development agenda for the county and lack of a substantial project initiated in the last one year by the governor.
“The governor is incompetent and has led to lack of any substantial development in the county. The Governor should take personal responsibility since he has failed to show leadership as the head of the executive,” reads the Motion by Kigen.
He further accuses the governor of incompetence in discharging his mandate leading to failure in steering development in the county.
“One year down the line after the Governor assumed office, we have not a single project and he should be held responsible,” he said.
External forces
But Elgeiyo Marakwet Minority Leader Benson Kiptire who had initially supported the Motion at the floor of the Assembly only to recant later said the Motion would not sail through as the governor had not breached the Constitution.
“Tolgos has not breached the Constitution, abused his office or grossly violated the grounds stipulated by the Constitution to warrant impeachment,” said Kiptire.
He said that after reading the Constitution, there were no grounds to call for impeachment saying there are pertinent issues the county leaders should be discussing other than politics.
“Our county needs collective ideologies that would steer the development agenda forward but not division as some members are trying to perpetuate,” said Kiptire who is the Kapyego ward representative.
The governor through his chief of staff Daniel Kiptum said there are external forces inciting some MCAs to impeach him.
“We are aware that many of our opponents are not happy with Tolgos being the governor and they are hell bent on tarnishing his development record,” said Kiptum.
