A court has upheld the impeachment of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
A three-judge bench consisting of Justices Said Chitembwe, Weldon Korir and Wilfrida Okwany ruled that 88 MCAs signed the motion to impeach him and none of them came to court to dispute their signatures.
Chitembwe said that each MCA signed against his or her name and that only 44 were required to pass the impeachment motion.
The judges also noted that the ward representatives were not required to appear physically in order to vote for the motion.
The judges also faulted the ousted county chief for taking the MCAs to Kwale during the crucial vote.
Justice Chitembe said Sonko was wrong for taking members of the county assembly for a trip when they were supposed to be on duty.
On the matter where the ex-governor allegedly signed over devolved functions to the National government while inebriated, the judges noted that the behaviour was unbecoming of a leader.
“We find that the conduct of Sonko does not meet the highest standard expected of a governor,” Judge Chitembwe ruled.
Read: Anne Kananu Mwenda Sworn In As Nairobi’s Deputy Governor After MCAs’ Approval
“The deed of transfer is an important document that cannot be seen to have been dealt with in circumstances where the governor was not sure of.”
“This is in our view the violation of the trust bestowed upon the office of the governor by the electorate as it does not portray good governance, accountability and Integrity.”
Sonko was also dealt another blow when the judges ruled that Deputy Governor Anne Kananu was vetted and appointed in line with the Constitution.
As a result, all petitions challenging her ascendancy are without merit and have been dismissed.
Justice Okwany noted that a governor is only a nominating authority and not an approving authority.
“Sonko cannot unilaterally withdraw the nomination of Kananu without the input of county assembly. It violated separation of powers. We are not persuaded that the nomination was revoked,” she said.
Sonko had claimed to have withdrawn Kananu’s nomination in a letter dated December 7, 2020.
Kananu took over office on January 15 after being successfully vetted by the ward representatives.
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