New bill toughens impeachment process for governors

Governors can now breathe a sigh of relief following a new bill that proposes they cannot be impeached within the first six months of assuming office.

The County Governments (State Officers' Removal from Office) Procedure Bill, 2024, sponsored by Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa, has been introduced in the Senate for the first reading.

Currently, the County Governments Act, 2012, outlines how to remove these officials, but the Senator argues it only offers broad guidelines.

"A motion by a county assembly for the removal of the county governor by impeachment may only be re-introduced in the county assembly on the expiry of 90 days from the date of a vote by the Senate," the bill reads in part.

The bill provides for a vigorous legal framework for the removal from office of the governor, deputy governor, county executives, county secretary, and county assembly speakers.

Part of the Bill states, "The lack of a comprehensive statutory framework for the removal, from office, of the said four categories of county state officers necessitates this Bill."

The Kiambu Senator also proposes the introduction of a new impeachment motion in the county assembly if it addresses issues distinct from those discussed in previous proceedings.

According to the proposed Bill, an MCA who wants to start an impeachment motion against the governor must first collect signatures from at least a third of the assembly members.

Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa addresses a crowd at a past campaign rally. (Photo: Handout)

The legislator then writes to the clerk, who will confirm the motion before forwarding it to the speaker.

The clerk will also publish the motion in local newspapers and send a copy to the governor.

The bill states in part, "If a motion under subsection receives support from at least two-thirds of all county assembly members, the speaker of the county assembly shall inform the Speaker of the Senate of that resolution within three days."

At the Senate, the Speaker is expected to verify the documents used to support the impeachment process and communicate the same to the House to begin the process of considering the removal.

"If the Senate resolves that the county assembly complied with the procedure, the special committee shall proceed with the impeachment process," it says.

A wave of impeachment has characterised the last 10 years of devolution, creating hostility between governors and county assemblies.

11 governors and three deputies have been impeached by Members of County Assemblies since 2013, but only two—former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu)—were successfully removed from office, with the others being rescued by the Senate and the courts.

Apart from Sonko and Waititu, the late Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, Paul Chepkwony (former Kericho boss), Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, Mwangi wa Iria (former Murang'a boss), and Granton Samboja (former Taita Taveta governor), were impeached, but ultimately saved by the Senate, which rejected their ousters.