Senate to appeal nullification of Embu Governor Martin Wambora's impeachment

The Senate is now challenging the move by the Court of Appeal to overturn the impeachment of Embu Governor Martin Nyaga Wambora.

In a notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court, the Senate through the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) expressed dissatisfaction with a ruling by a three judge Court of Appeal bench that nullified Wambora's impeachment.

The Senate's lawyer, Anthony Njoroge, filed a notice of appeal addressed to the Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal dated December 18, 2015 under rule 30 of the Supreme Court rules, 2011. "Take notice that the PSC, being dissatisfied with the decision of justices Hannah Okwengu, GBM Kariuki and Mohammed Warsame delivered on December 11, 2015, intends to appeal to the Supreme Court against the whole of the said decision," reads the notice in part.

The notice was lodged in the Appellate Court's registry in Nairobi on December 22, 2015.

Nullifying Wambora's impeachment, the Appeal Court judges ruled that there was no clear evidence that he acted in gross violation of the Constitution, warranting his impeachment motion.

The Embu County Assembly impeached Wambora on May 13, 2015, accusing him of gross violation of the Constitution, impropriety in management of county government affairs and gross violation of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

However, Embu Speaker Kariuki Mate has said he is undecided over whether to support the appeal or abandon the quest to legitimise the impeachment and work with Wambora. "Wambora's impeachment raised fundamental issues on the county's governance that needed to be corrected. I still believe the assembly did not err by impeaching the governor twice. The pilferage and mal-administration at the county government at the advent of devolution was unforgivable," said the speaker.

Mate also observed the county had lost valuable resources in terms of time and finances while battling it out in court.

He said he might decide to ditch the bid to appeal against the governor's reinstatement and support him in his attempt to revive the county's development agenda for the next one and a half years.

"We have wasted a lot of time in court and maybe it is time to give Wambora our full support and let him serve the electorate by implementing the development budgets passed by the assembly. Embu residents need to see their governor working and not just battling for his seat in courts," he said. He pledged to declare his stand on the matter immediately after consulting with key stakeholders in the county leadership.

The appeal is expected to trigger a legal tussle as both the Judiciary and Senate battle it out to set precedence at the highest court of the land.