Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu alias Babayao is officially out of the office and even before dust could settle on the foreseen decision by the senate, his deputy James Nyoro is set to be sworn in today morning, a few hours since Waititu’s impeachment.
Nyoro who has been the acting governor since July 2019 when Waititu was charged with a corruption case involving 588 million shillings and was ordered to step anywhere near his office will the first to take over an impeached governor.
Waititu’s woes began when the Kiambu MCA’s passed an impeachment motion after he was charged with the loss of 588 million shillings which was upheld yesterday, January 30th, 2020, by the Senate.
In an awkwardly swift move, High Court Judge John Onyiego is today expected to swear in James Nyoro as the third Kiambu County governor after the Senate found him guilty of the following as indicated in the gazette notice:
- Gross violation of the Constitution of Kenya, the County Government Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.
- Crimes under the National law
- Abuse of Office/Gross Misconduct.
The decision by the Senate to impeach Governor Waititu was reached upon after a two-day proceeding during charges were fronted against him with County Assembly Members accusing him of abuse of office.
Waititu’s impeachment at some point brought out the existing differences and rivalry between the Tanga Tanga and Kieleweke members.
The majority of the Senators voted for the motion seeking to validate Waititu’s impeachment despite concerns on whether it had met the legal threshold from a section of legislators.
Waititu’s impeachment had the backing of 28 senators supported the Crimes under National Law charge while 11 chose to stand by him.
Waititu is now officially the second county boss to be impeached by the Senate after Embu Governor Martin Wambora was removed in 2014 but was later reinstated by the Court, it remains to be seen whether Waititu will win back his seat in Court.
All eyes are now currently glued on James Nyoro’s swearing-in which has undoubtedly been rushed in a peculiar manner considering that Wambora was impeached by the Senate but his deputy only acted in capacity until the courts decided.