Watch: Senate begins impeachment trial against Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo
Sixteen out of 18 MCAs voted to impeach Governor Guyo, accusing him of abuse of office, gross misconduct, and violations of the Constitution and other laws.
Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo is set to appear before the Senate today as the House begins a two-day plenary hearing on his proposed removal from office through impeachment.
The Senate opted for a full plenary trial after rejecting a motion to establish an 11-member special committee to investigate the allegations against the governor.
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Senate Speaker Amason Kingi gazetted Tuesday and Wednesday this week as the official sitting days to consider the resolution by the Isiolo County Assembly, which passed the impeachment motion last month.
16 out of 18 MCAs voted to impeach Governor Guyo, accusing him of abuse of office, gross misconduct, and violations of the Constitution and other laws.
The Senate has released a detailed schedule for the proceedings as outlined in the Order Paper for Tuesday, July 8, 2025. The hearing begins at 9 am with a closed-door pre-hearing meeting for senators.
From 10 am, the House will proceed with preliminary matters, including the recitation of the Senate’s constitutional mandate, rules of procedure, and the hearing programme.
This will be followed by the formal introduction of the Members of the Isiolo County Assembly representing the Assembly and their legal team, and the introduction of Governor Guyo and his legal representatives.
By 11 am, the Senate will proceed to the reading of the charges levelled against the governor, after which the House will allocate time, between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm, to address preliminary questions and objections. The session will break for lunch from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
In the afternoon, the Assembly’s legal team will deliver their opening statement between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm, followed by a statement from the governor’s defence team from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm.
From 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, the Senate will receive evidence from the County Assembly, including the presentation of witnesses, cross-examination, and re-examination.
The Assembly will have a maximum of three hours to present witness testimonies and conduct any re-examinations, while the governor’s legal team will be allowed up to two hours for cross-examination of those witnesses. The House will then adjourn at 6:30 pm.
If the preliminary objection raised by the governor’s team is dismissed, the trial will move into full hearing mode, continuing into Wednesday with further submissions, cross-examinations, and a final vote by the Senate.
Governor Guyo has assembled a strong legal team comprising Elisha Ongoya, former Law Society of Kenya president Eric Theuri, Elias Mutuma, Tali Israel Tali, Marcelino Lesaigor, Miriam Rebecca Abong, Ruth Kiunga, Nura Abdulkadir Nura, Brianlee Maingi, Brian Gathii, and Ali Fila.
His list of witnesses includes Salad Boru Guracha, the Clerk of the County Assembly, Chief Finance Officer Habiba Galgalo Jirma, MCAs Abdinoor Dima Jillo and Diba Abdirashid Ali, and Administration Police Officer Shaban Mzungu.
On the other hand, the County Assembly has also lined up a robust legal team made up of Paul Nyamodi, Ekuru Aukot, Boniface Mawira, Eric Muriuki, Alex Mbaya, Patrick Barasa, Jamal Abdikadir, Kennedy Maweu, Paul Wafula, Alvin Kemboi, Brenda Mwangi, Diana Bosire, Kennedy Mugambi, and Hussein Kassim Roba. Legal assistants Derick Kigotho and Marion Aromo will also support the team.
The Assembly’s witnesses include MCAs Abubakar Abdi Godana, Lemantile David, Nicholas Lorot, and Peter Loyan, along with Anab Kasim and Abdirahman Mohamed Ibrahim. Loyan and Lemantile are expected to actively participate in the impeachment hearings.
Boniface Mawira, one of the Assembly’s lawyers, explained that “The Assembly’s witnesses shall rely on affidavits they have respectively sworn in support of the impeachment motion for purposes of the requirement for witness statements.”
“Additionally, the witnesses shall rely on the impeachment motion and the documents submitted by the Assembly in support of the impeachment motion during their respective testimonies at the Senate.”
Should the impeachment proceedings advance beyond preliminary objections, both legal teams will be allowed to present their full cases, with senators also getting a chance to cross-examine the witnesses.
All 67 senators will take part in the hearing process, but only the 47 elected senators representing the counties will cast a vote on whether or not to uphold the impeachment charges.
If at least 24 of the 47 county delegations vote to support any of the charges, Governor Guyo will cease to hold office.
However, if the impeachment is rejected, the Senate Speaker will notify the Speaker of the Isiolo County Assembly.
The governor will still have the right to appeal the Senate’s decision in court should he be removed from office.
This impeachment trial marks the third such case against a county governor in the current term of Parliament.
Since the beginning of the 13th Parliament, the Senate has handled seven impeachment proceedings, two through special committees and five through plenary sittings, including one involving a Deputy President.
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