Kericho Governor Erick Mutai survives impeachment for second time as Senate rules threshold not met

Kericho Governor Eric Mutai arriving at the Senate for his impeachment hearing on August 28, 2025. (Photo: Senate)

By Rachael Mutabasi
Friday, August 29, 2025

In the vote by delegation, 16 Senators supported impeachment while 26 opposed, allowing the governor to retain his position.

Kericho Governor Erick Mutai has survived an impeachment motion for the second time in a year after Senators voted that the threshold of 32 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) required for his removal was not met.

In the vote by delegation, 16 Senators supported impeachment while 26 opposed, allowing the governor to retain his position.

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The motion was moved by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, who questioned whether the necessary number of MCAs had voted in favour of the impeachment. After deliberations, the Senate confirmed that the threshold was not met, clearing the way for the vote by delegation that ultimately rejected the motion.

Kericho Governor Erick Mutai survives an impeachment motion after 26 Senators voted that the threshold to impeach him was not met by the County Assembly. #SenateLive #KerichoGovImpeachmentHearing pic.twitter.com/PYgYEWPCiG
— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) August 29, 2025

Speaker Amason Kingi announced the result, stating that the nays had it. He explained that because the two-thirds threshold of 32 MCAs was not met, the impeachment proceedings had been terminated.

“The result of the division indicates that the motion has been negatived. Consequently, the impeachment hearing hereby terminates,” Kingi said.

Before the vote, Governor Mutai told Senators that he received the impeachment report on August 6, the same day the motion was tabled, leaving him little time to analyse and respond.

“As I had indicated earlier on the matter, I received the report on the August 6, the same day the motion was tabled, which made it very difficult for me to analyse and make a proper presentation.”

He highlighted that during the impeachment process, both the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had requested related documents, which he instructed county officials and the County Secretary to submit promptly.

Mutai appealed for a second chance, pledging to fully implement all recommendations from the investigative reports and to act on any future findings of culpability among county officers.

“Given a chance again, I will be able to implement the reports in totality and also act on what the investigative agencies recommend,” he said.

He further committed to building constructive working relationships with the County Assembly, including the Speaker and MCAs, as well as the Deputy Governor, the Senator, and Members of Parliament, to deliver for the people of Kericho County in the remaining two years of the five-year term.

Governor Mutai was impeached by the Kericho County Assembly on August 15 over allegations of financial mismanagement, nepotistic appointments and intimidation of county staff.

Appearing before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, the first day of the hearing, Mutai dismissed the charges read to him by the Clerk of the Senate, Jeremiah Nyegenye.

On Thursday, August 28, Mutai mounted a robust defence, challenging the validity of electronic votes cast by Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).