Besieged Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko was on Monday briefly detained after police stormed his meeting with ward representatives opposed to his planned impeachment.
Police fired teargas to disperse the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) who were holding a meeting at Riverside. They accused the leaders of flouting Covid-19 rules.
This writer understands that Sonko and the MCAs were planning to hold a press conference at the same location.
Sonko is said to have been plotting with the MCAs on how to block his impeachment.
An impeachment motion against the governor was tabled on Thursday with 86 out of 122 MCAs appending their signatures to support it.
This surpasses the threshold of 42 signatures required to initiate the process of impeaching the governor.
The motion of impeachment was moved by Minority Leader Michael Ogada.
Read: I’m Ready To Go Home – Sonko Says Over Impending Impeachment
Ogada and MCAs in support of the motion want the governor kicked out of office on grounds of among others gross violation of the Constitution, graft and abuse of office.
The lawmaker argued that the governor has been in and out of courtrooms on various cases and is therefore unfit to hold public office.
Ogada also told the assembly that Sonko’s conduct on social media including publishing of “abusive and unbecoming words” in his numerous rants does not befit the high office he holds.
The MCAs also want the governor kicked out over his refusal to assent the bill on Ksh37.5 billion 2020-21 budget.
Read Also: Sonko Impeachment Saga: MCAs Claim Lives in Danger
But Sonko, through his lawyer, Harrison Kinyanjui, has accused county assembly speaker Benson Mutura of contempt of court for allowing Ogada to table the motion.
According to Sonko, the speaker should not have suspended the previous motion that was tabled by Makongeni MCA Peter Imwatok since the matter is already in court.
“By your purporting to process a fresh impeachment Motion against Mike Sonko Mbuvi while these proceedings are pending, you have committed an act of intentional disrespect to these judicial proceedings in breach of Section 36 of the High Court Act, 2015, which constitutes contempt of court,” the lawyer said in a letter dated November 27.
Read Also: Sonko Impeachment Saga: MCAs Claim Lives in Danger
Kinyanjui added: “Since you have submitted yourself to the authority of the High Court in the cited petition as the forums convenes to inquire into the legality of the purported impeachment Motion by Imwatok, the rule of subjudice equally binds you not to do any act that constitutes a breach of the High Court’s administration of justice as you have now done by means of this fresh Motion by Michael Ogada over the purported impeachment of the Governor.”
Last week, Mutura suspended Imwatok’s motion as it was not debated within the stipulated two weeks, paving way for minority leader, Ogada’s motion.
Kinyanjui argues that the speaker had no power to suspend the motion which is actively before a court and will be coming up for mention on December 3.
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