Appeal court nullifies Martin Wambora’s impeachment

The Court of Appeal has nullified the Senate's decision to impeach Embu Governor Martin Wambora.

In the ruling, the Court of Appeal also said the High Court's initial decision was erroneous. Justices John Mwera, Hannah Okwengu and GBM Kariuki in their landmark 24-page ruling noted that the governor had secured his lifeline in courts for a year since his first impeachment in April last year.

“We allow the applicant's (Wambora) motion to the extent of issuing a conservatory order for him to remain in office and continue to exercise his powers as Governor of Embu County for a limited period of four months effective from date thereof.”

The judges ruled that there was no clear evidence that Wambora acted in gross violation of the Constitution warranting his impeachment motion.

"Collective responsibility is not a principle of individual responsibility. The tenders involved many parties thus the appellant was not individually liable," said the judges

Represented by advocates Paul Muite, Ahmed Nasir, Wilfred Nyamu, Julius Kemboi, Peter Wanyama, David Njoroge and Mansour Issa, the county boss had appealed against a ruling in which the High Court in Kerugoya said that the Senate and the Assembly had the final say on the veracity of the alleged illegal tendering of deals.

Early 2015, Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki reaffirmed that Wambora's removal from office was in accordance with the law.

"Any attempt to pretend that you can ignore institutions and get away with it, will only lead to problems. According to us, the Governor of Embu was impeached lawfully and the Senate does not act in vain," said Kindiki.

The county assembly twice resolved to oust Wambora, on February 14 and later on May 13.

The governor has been accused of flouting the County Government Act by appointing public servants without the assembly's approval.

Additionally he was faulted for flouting the Public Procurement Act in the purchase of Sh35 million worth of maize seeds that never germinated, procurement of vehicles and authorization of the renovation of Embu Stadium at a cost of Sh50 million up from Sh8 million.

According to iLaw Kenya, "Impeachment is both legal and political process. The confusing, contradictory and sometimes conflicting court decisions make the process more chaotic and county governance almost impossible."

The iLaw continues to state that there is need for clarity in the impeachment process: "There is need of clear legislative framework to guide the process and protect it from abuse and political vendetta instead of pursuit of good governance.”

Friday, the three judge bench ruled "Wambora was elected Governor for a five-year term effective March 2013, which means almost half the term is gone.

“We take judicial notice of the fact that litigation in courts can drag for a long time and a situation may arise where the court process may be manipulated or abused, so that the appeal remains pending until after the applicant's term in office expires,” the judges noted.

The judges affirmed that the time frame is rather stringent, but this has been necessitated by the public interest involved in the matter and need to conclude the matter.