Year to forget for impeached Meru governor Kawira Mwangaza

Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza. [File, Standard]

It has been a year to forget for former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza but a memorable one for her successor Mutuma M’Ethingia.

It was a bad year for Mwangaza, a bishop in the Baite Family Fellowship (BFF), but it heralded a new beginning for M’Ethingia, a reverend in the Methodist Church in Kenya (MCK).

The two people of the cloth had teamed up after Mwangaza picked M’Ethingia, then a senior officer at Kenya Prison Service, to take on political titans, incumbent Kiraitu Murungi and Mithika Linturi, in the August 2022 election, and emerged victorious against the odds stacked against them.

Mwangaza’s fall from the helm of the county leadership was kicked off by Members of the Meru County Assembly (MCAs) barely 122 days into office. But the final nail in the coffin was hammered in March when Mutuma was sworn in following her impeachment.

The impeachment motions had been tabled by three MCAs: Dennis Kiogora, Evans Mawira and Zipporah Kinya, over charges that included abuse of office, gross misconduct and vilification of leaders.

Mwangaza has since lodged an appeal.

M’Ethingia took over on March 17, promising a new beginning and new style of leadership that would focus on service delivery.

He kicked off his tenure with a flurry of changes, reversing some of Mwangaza’s actions, including deploying tens of county rangers to the cattlerustling-prone Nyambene region and restoring the Meru Youth Service, the brain-child of former governor Murungi.

The political heat that had been the order of the day pitting Mwangaza on one side and MCAs and MPs on the other, has since gone down. M’Ethingia said restoring the unity and cohesion are important to enable leaders deliver services.

“This year marks a turning point, the first time in two and a half years that the Executive and the Assembly have worked hand-in-hand to plan and deliberate on the financial year budget,” the governor told The Standard.

“The past two and a half years were marked by political wrangles and instability, but today, we stand united. This unity will make the difference; when leaders work together, “ he added.

He termed the restoration of unity among the leaders as a strong working relationship and exuded confidence it will spur development in the region.

As for Mwangaza, she maintaines that she was ‘sacrificed’ by the country’s top leadership and promised a comeback.She says the 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.