Kisii deputy governor to face Senate plenary over impeachment
Nyanza
By
Edwin Nyarangi
| Mar 07, 2024
Embattled Kisii Deputy Governor Robert Monda will have to fight against incriminatory charges, including alleged bribery and gross misconduct before the whole House of the Senate.
This decision was made after a motion by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot to form an 11-member special committee to investigate impeachment charges against Dr Monda collapsed.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna who was supposed to second the motion, failed to do so, informing the House that he had alerted the Majority Leader of his intention to withdraw support for the motion.
"I had clearly informed the Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot that I am withdrawing my support for this motion that intends to form a special committee to investigate the impeachment of Kisii Deputy Governor Robert Monda," said Sifuna.
Following the decision Senate Speaker Amason Kingi declared the motion having collapsed since it was very clear that it did not have a seconder paving the way for him to announce that the matter will go to the plenary with Speaker promising to give further directions on the matter.
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Cheruiyot had proposed Senators Seki Lenku (Kajiado),Wafula Wakoli (Bungoma), Mariam Omar (Nominated), Joe Nyutu (Murang'a) and James Lomenen (Turkana), Margaret Kamar (Nominated), Okiya Omtatah (Busia), Beth Syengo (Nominated), Issa Juma Boy (Kwale), Shakila Abdallah, (Nominated), and Crystal Asige (Nominated) to serve in the committee.
A total of 53 Members of Kisii County Assembly voted to impeach Monda with 15 MCAs voting against the motion while one member abstained with one vote getting spoilt. Kisii county assembly Speaker Phillip Nyanumba declared that the impeachment had met two thirds threshold of the 70 MCAs in the county.
Kingi informed the House that Monda faces charges of gross violation of the constitution where he is accused of allegedly requesting and receiving a bribe of Sh 800,000 which is in breach of the provisions of Article 232.
" This Act obligates public officers to observe the values and principles of public service that include high standards of professional ethics, fair competition and merits as the basis of appointments and promotions," he said.
The Speaker told the House that the embattled deputy governor is accused of having allegedely used his office to improperly confer a benefit to himself when he solicited a sum of Sh 800,000 from one Dennis Mokaya and his family in the pretext to secure him a job for the post of a commercial Manager of GWASCO, an entity of Kisii County Government.
Dr Monda is also accused of gross misconduct for allegedly interfering with the appointment of the Commercial Manager of Gwasco by attempting to bribe the Managing Director Lucy Wahito Wachira with Sh100,000 in May 2023, in contravention of Article 75 of the Constitution.
The Deputy Governor was also accused of allegedly misusing Kisii county enforcement officers for personal benefit by deploying a contingency of 20 askaris to arrest his brother one Reuben Monda for cutting down trees.
It will now be upon the Senate to either uphold or dismiss the charges levelled against Monda who served previously as Nyaribari Chache MP after unseating former Cabinet Minister Simeon Nyachae in the 2007 General Election.