Why Governor Ann Waiguru Was Baptized by Fire in Her Own Backyard

They say politics is poly tricks and if there is any politician in the country who can attest to that right now is Ann Mumbi Waiguru, the impeached Governor of Kirinyaga County. For the last few days, Waiguru has undergone many trials, tribulations and political nightmares because of one reason; A motion that was moved by Mutira Member of County Assembly Mr. Kinyua Wangui to impeach her.

The Governor's relationship with the Ward Representatives first escalated when the County Public Service Board's term in office expired and Ms. Ann Waiguru went ahead and nominated four other people to fill the positions. Waiguru also dismissed three county executives and appointed new ones, with the county health executive being spared, a move that was termed by the MCAs as gross misconduct and violation of the constitution.

And it didn't end there. The county boss was accused of failing to deliver the annual state of the county address to the assembly, with the motion mover saying it was a violation of the law and such an act undermines the County Assembly and goes against the County Governments Act. "By failing to deliver the address to the Assembly, the Governors conduct amount to violation of the doctrine of sovereignty of the people enshrined in the constitution," Mr. Wangui said.

Power Seizure Claims

The Governor was blamed for 'assuming' the powers of the accounting officer by establishing what was called an illegal tender evaluation committee comprising of his loyal staff for her personal gains, an act termed by the ward representatives as violation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act.

Ms. Waiguru was also faulted for paying herself travel allowances in the tune of 10 million Kenya shillings, with the MCAs claiming that she didn't travel and that was mismanagement of public funds that called for an immediate action.

The Real Battle

After a long political battle, the MCAs finally convened in the Assembly, and voted Waiguru out in a heated proceeding that was marred by tension and chaos. 23 out of the 33 MCAs voted in favor of the motion to oust the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary, with four members abstaining and six being absent from the session that went past midnight just to ensure that they left no table unturned.

However, the first time Governor dismissed the claims terming them as a waste of time and baseless. She said that their intention was to bully her so that they can achieve nefarious, personalized and ill fated political objectives. Waiguru also said that she obtained a court order to stop the assembly impeachment proceedings until the issues which were raised were determined.

Kirinyaga County Assembly speaker Mr. Anthony Gathumbi said that the impeachment motion had met the threshold  and promised to communicate the resolutions to the Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka. "Two-thirds of the ward representatives have voted in support of the motion and therefore the process is proper," He said.

Now all the eyes are on the Senate which will be determining the fate of the impeached Governor. The law states that the Senate must, within 10 days of receiving the Assembly's resolution from its Speaker, summon and set up a special committee or sit as a committee of the whole house to determine whether or not the claims in the impeachment motion are authenticated.