A section of Members of County Assembly (MCAs) have opposed the proposed motion to impeach Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, in a move that could see the motion collapse at the assembly.

The 10 MCAs who initially signed in favor of the proposed motion have now made a U-turn, and asked the mover to withdraw the motion and allow dialogue between the county assembly and the executive led by Governor Mwangaza.

The MCAs say their feeling is that the motion was rushed since there was a proposal from the presidency to have dialogue that was supposed to be conducted by the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders and religious leaders.

The MCAs have also accused their counterparts of not prioritizing the passing of the 2024/2025 budget, a move they say will paralyze the operations of the county government including payment of salaries to employees.

The number of MCAs opposed to the motion now stand at 23 out of 69 leaving 46 members supporting it which is the number required to pass the motion.

If one member from the 46 decides to cross to the other side then the motion will fail to meet the threshold.

Impeachment motion

The impeachment motion was sponsored by Zipporah Kinya, a nominated MCA and Deputy Leader of the Majority Party.

The motion wants the Governor impeached on two counts; abuse of office, and misappropriation and misuse of county resources.

The motion raises numerous allegations against the county boss on these two counts, including illegally revoking the appointment of CPA Virginia Kawira Miriti as Secretary/CEO of the Meru County Public Service Board, without a vote of not less than 75% of all the members of the County Assembly and in
usurpation of the powers of the County Assembly.

Kawira, who was voted as an independent candidate, is also accused of failing to appoint the Chairpersons of the Meru County Revenue Board, Meru Microfinance Corporation, Meru Youth Service Board, and Meru County Investment and Development Corporation Board as required by law.