How political grudges are driving multi-million governor impeachments

Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza with her lawyer Elias Mutuma during her Impeachment hearing on November 7, 2023. [File, Standard]

Elias Mutuma and Muthomi Thiankolu are just two of a battery of top Kenyan lawyers who have handled numerous impeachments of governors at the counties and Senate.

Although they have benefited in legal fees for prosecuting or defending the governors, Mutuma and Thiankolu are unanimous that a great deal of resources is spent in the trials.

Mr Mutuma says that the impeachment process has been ‘weaponised’ against governors.

Mutuma handled the impeachment of former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza and  Nyamira’s Amos Nyaribo at the Senate. He admits that process was a costly affair. 

He said that the grounds for the impeachment of Mwangaza and Nyaribo failed to meet the constitutional threshold.

“Article 181 of the Constitution, operationalised by Section 33 of the County Government Act, established impeachment as a powerful oversight tool as a measure of last resort reserved for grave constitutional breaches. The reality we are witnessing, however, stands in stark contradiction to this intent. Impeachment has been increasingly weaponised, invoked not as a solemn constitutional safeguard but as a tactical instrument for political coercion and personal grievance,” he stated.

He said this mechanism, designed to protect public interest, is now routinely deployed to ‘arm-twist’ governors.

“My direct involvement in this parliamentary term alone underscores the alarming scale of this trend. I have served as counsel in no fewer than eight impeachment proceedings, both prosecuting and defending sitting governors. This series began just two months after Governor Kawira Mwangaza assumed office, with the most recent case concluding yesterday in defence of the Governor of Nyamira County,” he said.

Mutuma added, “This sheer volume is the most telling evidence of a political environment that has become dangerously ‘trigger-happy’.”

He said the cases do not meet the threshold.

“From this intensive front-line experience, I can attest that the grounds presented in most of these cases are profoundly weak, often speculative, politically manufactured, and a mere pretext without constitutional foundation,” he said.

Mr Thiankolu said the impeachment proceedings had imposed significant financial strain on governors and assemblies.

“Each side must retain counsel, often at substantial fees running into millions or tens of millions. The urgency, complexity and seriousness of impeachment heighten these costs,” he said.

Thiankolu said there is also lobbying and political expenses.

“Both sides, but especially governors, face exposure to lobbying demands from MCAs, senators and political brokers. These pressures frequently translate into financial outlays of tens of millions of shillings. The outlays include extortionist demands for bribes and other inducements,” he said.

Thiankolu said the parties also incur administrative overheads in logistical and administrative costs relating to public notices, printing, photocopying, binding and others, again in millions.

“In sum, impeachment is not merely a political process but an expensive enterprise, draining public and private resources alike,” he noted.

Lucas Kobia, another lawyer, said governors know that an impeachment is a ‘door of no return’, hence don’t spare expenses fighting it.

But he said a change in law is needed. “I hope one day a constitutional amendment and precedent will be set where impeached persons will be allowed back to vie for public office, albeit in a ‘demoted’ manner,” Mr Kobia said.

Salesio Thuranira, an activist, said the ‘price’ of political wars and power struggles in Meru came at a cost.

“They are a multi-million shilling affair with direct financial consequences for the county’s coffers and taxpayers. From the initial motions to the legal battles at the Senate, it diverts substantial funds away from essential services like healthcare, education and infrastructure,” Mr Thuranira said.

He added, “For Meru, the repeated impeachment attempts against Mwangaza serve as a stark example of how political instability can cripple a county’s budget and stall development.”

When reached for a comment, Mwangaza said she spent millions defending herself but remained optimistic she would be absolved at the Court of Appeal.

She said the country’s top leadership ‘sacrificed’ her after being arm-twisted by her political opponents, who had threatened to decamp from President William Ruto’s camp unless she was sent home.

“They wanted a weak candidate in 2027. I was sacrificed by the state because they feared leaders would join the opposition. I did no wrong,” she said.

She said those who sponsored her impeachment will rue it.

“Every participant whose intention was to impeach me, a day is coming, Karma. They have started reaping; they will never have peace. “The god of vengeance will do it for me and Meru,” she stated.