Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero 'lied' to block his removal from office

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Alex Magelo has accused Governor Evans Kidero of lying in court to stop an impeachment motion against him.

Mr Magelo claimed the county chief misrepresented facts when he obtained orders barring the county assembly from summoning him to answer corruption claims. He now wants the court to discharge the orders.

"I personally informed Dr Kidero that the purpose of his appearance before the county assembly was to accord him an opportunity to respond to allegations against him but not to impeach him. He instead rushed to court with untrue claims that interfered with our mandate," Mr Magelo said.

The county speaker argued that it was wrong for Kidero to claim his rights were violated when the speaker allowed the motion for his impeachment, adding that the governor had a chance to clear his name before any decision was reached to impeach him.

According to Magelo, the court made a mistake in stopping the assembly from debating the impeachment motion since it went against the doctrine of separation of powers.

"As far as the impeachment process is concerned, the court's authority does not extend to inquire how the assembly performs its duties. They should only intervene once the impeachment process is concluded and the governor feels he was not accorded a fair hearing," he argued.

He swore an affidavit in support of an application by the county assembly seeking to lift the orders barring MCAs from debating the impeachment motion.

Through lawyer Samuel Karanja, MCAs said they had been curtailed from carrying out their mandate through an illegal order obtained through misrepresentation of facts.

Kidero last month obtained orders stopping the county assembly from summoning him to appear before a select committee to answer audit queries arising from the county government's expenditure.

Through lawyer Tom Ojienda, the county boss argued the summons requiring him to appear before the county assembly to defend himself against allegations of corruption and abuse of office were unlawful and did not meet the requirements of standing orders.

Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili set the hearing for January 17, 2017.