Impeached Kawira Mwangaza vows to champion political freedom in Meru

Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza at the Milimani Law Courts on March 14, 2025, during the judgment of her petition challenging Senate impeachment. [David Gichuru, Standard] Impeached Governor Kawira Mwangaza now says she will lead the Meru people in seeking political and socio-economic freedom. Mwangaza on Wednesday said although impeached, she will from next week embark on grassroots rallies with a view of sensitizing the community on the need to have a fresh crop of leaders come 2027. "We will do public participation in every ward, for people to select the people they want as leaders. Those who think they have silenced me should know that they have given me a microphone and empowered me to resist bad leadership," she said. "We must get political, socio-economic freedom in this county," she said. Mwangaza lost her bid to overturn her impeachment at the High Court, and her deputy, Isaac Mutum, was sworn in on Monday as the governor. On March 14, 2025, Justice Mwamuye dismissed her petition, upholding the Senate's decision to remove her from office. The judge ruled that Mwangaza's claims of procedural unfairness and rights violations lacked merit. "I therefore dismiss the Amended Petition and uphold the Senate of Kenya's impeachment resolution against Hon. Kawira Mwangaza, the Governor of Meru County," Justice Mwamuye ruled. So far, she has petitioned the Court of Appeal seeking a stay on the High Court's decision that upheld her removal from office. Through her lawyer, Elias Mutuma, Mwangaza argues that the ruling by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, which dismissed her petition and affirmed her impeachment last Friday, should not be enforced until her appeal is heard. "The applicant, being aggrieved by the said judgment, has swiftly lodged a Notice of Appeal dated March 14, 2025, and intends to expeditiously pursue an appeal against the entire judgment," Mutuma says in court documents. But going forward, Mwangaza said she will not retreat as her opponents would like. "I will not be cowered. I will defend the rights of the people of Meru, and very soon we are going to declare the way forward," said Mwangaza, who declared she will unveil a new political party soon. She claimed that the people had voiced their opposition against the Kenya Kwanza Government and Meru leaders lobbied the country's top leadership to withdraw its support for her in exchange for their support, which made her vulnerable. "I will also continue to engage with the people of Meru to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are met. I thank the countless supporters who have stood with me in this difficult time," she said, adding that she will overcome and emerge stronger. Mwangaza pointed to the growing disgruntlement among residents who accuse the Kenya Kwanza government of failure, claiming the Meru leaders took advantage of that to blackmail the national government leadership. According to her, vying for the gubernatorial seat as an independent candidate disadvantaged her and contributed to her impeachment. She acknowledged that lack of a political party hurt her prospects of running the devolved unit smoothly. "I had no resources, but the people believed in my manifesto of freeing the people from political servitude, poverty, and other challenges. The votes were not in vain, and the development projects that people can see are a testament." Mwangaza said that with President William Ruto's UDA and former Governor Kiraitu Murungi's controlling the County Assembly, she stood no chance of emerging unscathed. "I was ejected because I had no political party." She said her opponents had ganged up against her because she resisted the Meru leaders' efforts to meddle in her administration. "I was removed because I refused to become their puppet governor," she claimed. Ms Mwangaza, who accused a group of powerful elected leaders, among them MPs of orchestrating the impeachment campaign against her, said as she fights in court to clear her name, she will rally the people to protest her ejection.

Impeached Kawira Mwangaza vows to champion political freedom in Meru

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