Governors ‘salute’ Senators for saving Kawira Mwanza

By Peter Ochieng

Governors have thanked Senators for defeating an impeachment motion, against Meru County boss, Kawira Mwangaza.

Senators, on Wednesday night voted against all the seven charges levelled against the first term county boss, in the process defeating an impeachment motion forwarded to the Senate by the Meru County Assembly.

It was the second motion from the Assembly against the governor, to be ‘scarified at the altar’ of the Senate in a year.

In a statement read by Anne Waiguru, Chairperson, Council of Governors on the last day of a two-day retreat in Narok county, the county bosses said Senators approached Mwangaza’s impeachment with sobriety.

“We appreciate the sobriety of the Senate in the manner they handled the impeachment motion against our sister, H.E Kawira Mwangaza. This is a great win for devolution as the Senate has upheld the threshold for removal of a Governor. Indeed, the Senate has played its cardinal responsibility of protecting devolution,” said the Kirinyaga governor.

Under the same breadth, they want Parliament to expedite the enactment of the Impeachment Procedures Bill.

During the summit whose theme was reflect, realign and renew; governors came up with various resolutions aimed at strengthening devolution across the country.

They noted that during the summit meeting held in February, chaired by President William Ruto, it was resolved that Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) be reverted to counties at the rate of 20% for the Financial Year 2024/25.

However, that has not been the case. “It has come to our attention that the National Assembly has appropriated these resources to constituencies which is blatantly against the constitution. The Council demands that the summit resolutions be implemented, failure to which, we will have no alternative other than seek legal redress,” said Waiguru.

They also noted that the Social Health Insurance Act will favor the private sector facilities at the expense of the public institutions, appealing that the issues be corrected in the regulations.

Governors assured of their commitment to the devolution journey, in order to ensure that Kenyans receive better services at the local level as envisaged in our Constitution.