The County Assembly of Kitui will shelve debate on the impeachment motion of Governor Charity Ngilu indefinitely following a court order.
“As law abiding citizens, it’s only prudent for us to follow the law. But the Governor should rest assured that her impeachment will proceed as planned once the court matter is concluded,” Majority Leader Peter Kilonzo said.
The High Court stopped the impeachment until an application filed by Ngilu challenging the impeachment is heard and determined.
The decision by the Court is a major setback to the County Assembly which had planned to table the impeachment motion on Monday.
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Ngilu’s legal counsel led by Lawyers Morris Kimuli and Martin Oloo filed the application last week challenging the tabling and debating of the impeachment motion.
The Assembly accuses the governor of gross violation of the Constitution, violation of the County Governments Act by failing to honour Summons by the Senate, failing to comply with the two-third gender rule in appointments, violation of the constitutional right to health for the people of Kitui, conflict of interest and abuse of office, irregular and unlawful hiring of the County Secretary.
Ngilu is also accused of gross violation of the Income Tax Act by failing to remit statutory deductions to KRA, violation of the Public Finance Management Act on the management of the county wage bill, failure to constitute a County Public Service Board, gross violation of the Public Finance Management Act, undermining the authority of the County Assembly and reasonable grounds that the Governor has committed crimes under Sections. 96, 391 and 393 of the Penal Code Cap 63 laws of Kenya.
The impeachment motion has elicited mixed reactions among the locals with some supporting it while others claim it’s witch-hunt.
Her lawyers have warned that proponents of the impeachment motion risk getting jailed for contempt of court should they choose to proceed with the ouster debate come Monday.
They claim that the movers of the motion are driven by malice and did not adhere to the legal provisions in crafting the impeachment motion.
The inter-parte hearing has been skates for July 6, 2020.
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