Kericho Governor Erick Mutai Survives Impeachment At The Senate

Kericho Governor Erick Mutai has been acquitted of all the charges leveled against him by the Kericho County Assembly after senators voted to terminate the impeachment hearing against the county boss.

The senators, in a majority vote done electronically, voted in favour of a motion seeking to terminate the hearing of the impeachment, 34 senators voted YES, 10 voted NO, none abstained effectively letting the governor off the hook.

In a precedent-setting decision, 34 senators voted to uphold a preliminary objection raised by the governor’s counsel.

Governor Mutai had argued that the County Assembly did not meet the two-thirds threshold when they impeached him.

Some 31 MCAs out of 47 had voted to impeach the county chief, but the county boss said that the Assembly needed to raise 32 votes to impeach him.

Governor Mutai, had earlier in his submissions before the House, denied all the accusations leveled against him by the Kericho MCAs.

Appearing before Senators on the first day of the proceedings, Mutai rejected every accusation read to him by Clerk of the Senate Jeremiah Nyegenye, stating his innocence in the face of allegations that threaten his leadership.

Governor Mutai faces a wide array of accusations, with the most prominent being gross violation of the Constitution and mismanagement of County Finances.

The county assembly alleges that the governor misappropriated, misallocated and engaged in illegal drawings of county revenue and county finances.

The charges accuse him of violating several provisions of the law, including Articles 10, 183, and 201 of the Constitution, as well as Sections 102 and 109 of the Public Finance Management Act.

One of the issues raised against the governor is his alleged refusal to implement an automated system for revenue collection, despite the requirements of the Kericho County Rating Act No. 5 of 2019.

According to the Assembly, this failure to automate revenue collection left the County’s Finances vulnerable to pilferage, misappropriation and theft leading to significant revenue losses.

In addition, governor Mutai is accused of obstructing the implementation of a tender awarded on 14th December 2023, for the procurement of the Integrated County Revenue Management System.

Despite the tender being responsive, the County Assembly claims that the governor frustrated the process, allegedly preventing crucial improvements in the County’s Revenue Management System.

The Assembly further accuses him of disregarding a Valuation Roll that had been prepared and passed by the County Assembly back in 2016 and continuing to collect property rates based on an outdated Valuation Roll, which has resulted in substantial revenue losses for the County.

Another accusation levelled against the Governor involves the launch of the ‘Equalizer Kazi Mtaani’ Initiative.

According to the charges, the governor launched the programme on August, 31, 2023 and allocated County funds to it without any legislative backing.

Moreover, the initiative was allegedly undertaken without public participation or approval from both the County Assembly and the Controller of Budget, raising further concerns about transparency and accountability.

The County Assembly also blames governor Mutai for misusing the County Emergency Fund in response to the Londiani accident, in which several victims were compensated using public funds.

The Assembly argues that the governor’s actions were a cover-up for funds that had been raised by the public to support the victims but were misappropriated by a committee formed by the Governor to steer the fundraising efforts.

Over Sh9 million of public-raised funds reportedly went missing and the Assembly holds the Governor accountable for this misappropriation.

In the second charge of abuse of office, governor Mutai stands accused of making illegal appointments, carrying out unlawful dismissals and transferring employees in violation of the law.

The County Assembly claims that the governor has usurped the constitutional and statutory functions of the County Public Service Board and in doing so has not only violated the rights of County employees but also undermined the integrity of the county administration.

In addition, the Assembly accuses Governor Mutai of impeding the oversight role of the County Assembly which is constitutionally mandated to hold the executive accountable.

On the question of gross misconduct, governor Mutai has been accused of engaging in acts of bullying, incitement and vilification of political opponents. He is also accused of indecent sexual conduct.

The County Assembly’s legal team has sought protection for one of their key witnesses who is expected to testify on the allegations of sexual exploitation and molestation.

Meanwhile, governor Mutai’s legal team filed a Preliminary Objection to the continuation of the hearing.

They argued that the impeachment motion passed by the County Assembly did not meet the Constitutional threshold, as only 31 out of 47 Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) had voted to support the motion, falling short of the two-thirds majority required by law.