Kericho Governor Dr. Eric Mutai has once again survived an attempt to remove him from office after the Senate rejected his impeachment on grounds that the County Assembly did not achieve the required two-thirds majority vote.
For three days, Senators debated the matter, but the focus remained on whether the electronic voting system used at the County Assembly was credible and whether the threshold of 33 MCAs voting was actually met. Because of these doubts, the Senate did not proceed to examine the substance of the charges against the Governor.
The Kericho County Assembly had accused Governor Mutai of violating the Constitution, abuse of office, and gross misconduct. To defend himself, the Governor presented nearly 20 witnesses, including 18 MCAs and an IT expert. The Assembly, on its part, produced six witnesses, while the Senate also sought the opinion of an independent expert from the ICT Authority.
However, none of the experts could clearly verify the voting process or confirm the exact number of MCAs who participated.
In the final vote, 26 Senators rejected the impeachment Motion tabled by Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, saying the voting process at the County Assembly was unverifiable. Sixteen Senators supported the Motion, while one abstained.
Several Senators expressed strong doubts about the electronic voting system, which had been introduced at the County Assembly just a day before the impeachment debate.
Senator Okong’o Omogeni described it as a “special purpose vehicle designed to take the Governor home,” adding that he could not understand how the system worked and that experts only created more doubt.
Senator Danson Mungatana echoed this view, arguing that impeachment should meet the same high standard of proof as criminal trials — beyond reasonable doubt. Senator Tom Ojienda added that in the absence of certainty, the benefit of doubt should go to the Governor.
Senator Godfrey Osotsi also faulted the ICT Authority expert, saying the findings presented to the Senate were not supported by proper documentation.
At the close of debate, Speaker Amason Kingi ruled that since the threshold was not achieved at the County Assembly, the Senate had no basis to proceed with a trial. The impeachment process was therefore terminated, allowing Governor Mutai to remain in office.
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