Nyamira County Governor Amos Nyaribo has denied all charges brought against him by the Nyamira County Assembly as his impeachment hearing began before the Senate plenary.
Appearing before Senators on the first day of the proceedings, Governor Nyaribo rejected every accusation read out to him by Senate Deputy Clerk Mohamed Ali.
In the first set of charges, the Governor is accused of unlawfully supporting the Bunge Mashinani initiative and giving illegal assent to the Nyamira County Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2024.
He is also accused of making an unlawful appointment of Dr. Peris Nyaboke Oroko, also known as Peris Mongare, as a County Executive Committee Member.
The Assembly further claims that he illegally appointed members of the Nyamira and Keroka Municipal Boards and unlawfully formed a Selection Panel for the County Public Service Board (CPSB), then failed to appoint the Chairperson, Secretary and Members of the CPSB as required.
According to the Assembly, the Governor also failed to deliver key accountability documents, including the State of the County Address and Annual Reports. He is additionally accused of ignoring court orders concerning the appointment of Clive Ogwora to the County Executive Committee.
On the charge of abuse of office, the Assembly alleges that Governor Nyaribo conducted staff recruitment without budget allocation, influenced irregular appointments of senior human resource officers and benefited from irregular salary arrears.
He is also linked to an alleged payroll fraud scheme said to have caused the loss of public funds. The accusations further include claims of dual appointments outside the lawful establishment and interference with the powers of the Auditor-General and the CPSB. The Governor is also accused of unlawfully suspending the CPSB Secretary.
Before the Senate begins hearing the full case, Senators are set to rule on a Preliminary Objection that will determine whether the impeachment process continues or is stopped. Governor Nyaribo’s legal team, led by Advocate Elias Mutuma, argued that the impeachment Motion does not meet the legal threshold and should therefore be dismissed. Mutuma urged Senators not to proceed with what he described as a “lifeless Motion,” saying the Senate had more important matters to handle.
In response, the County Assembly’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Katwa Kigen, dismissed the Governor’s objection and asked the Senate to allow the impeachment to move forward. Kigen insisted that the Assembly followed the law and that the charges meet the required threshold for impeachment.
Speaker Amason Kingi is expected to deliver a ruling on the Preliminary Objection during Wednesday afternoon’s sitting.
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