The impeachment trial of beleaguered Kericho Governor Erick Mutai will be conducted through plenary of the whole House at the Senate next week.
The Senate yesterday resolved that the impeachment motion against the first-term governor be heard on the floor of the House, rather than by an 11-member special committee.

Mutai will from Wednesday to Friday next week be required to appear before the senators who will in turn investigate the allegations levelled against him as grounds for his ouster.

This was after 33 out of 47 Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) voted to remove him from office.

“I wish to report to the Senate that I have, pursuant to Standing Order 48 (3), received a Message from the Speaker of the County Assembly of Kericho regarding a resolution of the County Assembly of Kericho for the proposed removal from office, by impeachment, of Hon. (Dr.) Erick Kipkoech Mutai, Governor of Kericho County, pursuant to Article 181 (1) (a), (b) and (c) of the Constitution as read together with section 33 of the County Governments Act and Standing Order 70 (13) (a) of the County Assembly of Kericho,” Speaker Kingi said.

During the special sitting convened yesterday, Senators heard that Governor Mutai had been accused of gross violation of the Constitution and other laws and will be investigating the same from next week.

According to documents tabled before the House, the county boss is accused of misappropriation and misallocation of County Finances contrary to Articles 10, 183 and 201 of the Constitution.

Fictitious payments

In particular, he is said to have authorized the misappropriation and misallocation of county finances through fictitious payments for goods, services and works which were never delivered or only partially done totaling Sh85,704,522.90.

These included irregular claims such as the maintenance of 15 residential houses, undelivered agricultural inputs such as soya beans and maize germ, and overpriced supplies, including sodas allegedly bought at Sh500 per bottle, tissue paper at Sh2,750 per bale, and hand towels at Sh3,600 a piece.

“Payments amounting to Sh5,172,715.60 were also made to companies without supporting documents, including Mengro Products Limited, Hildama Construction, Brissack Construction, Prospera Ventures and IBM Pro Construction. In some cases, contractors were paid twice from retention accounts for works completed more than five years ago,” said the Speaker.

He is also cited for misappropriation and/or abetting misappropriation of publicly raised funds by overseeing misappropriation of the funds raised for the victims of horrendous Londiani Junction accident tragedy in which over Sh9 million raised by the public  were lost and

reneging on his undertaking to implement the Report of the County Assembly’s Ad hoc Committee formed to probe the misappropriation of funds meant for the victims of the accident.

Under the abuse of office charge, Governor Mutai is said to have engaged in illegal appointments, unlawful dismissal and transfers and usurpation of the Constitutional and statutory functions of county public service. In the particulars, he was said to have engaged in skewed and nepotistic appointments of county employees.

“The Governor hired his brother as a revenue clerk and confirmed his aide’s wife as a nurse ahead of other long-serving contract nurses who were denied similar opportunities. These appointments were not only irregular but also discriminatory, undermining the values of fairness, equity and integrity in public service,”state the documents.

He was also accused of illegally appointing a County Attorney while a substantive office holder was still in place and subversion, discrediting and impeding of the oversight role of the County Assembly by writing to the Speaker purporting to direct the Speaker on inter alia, the timelines the Speaker should give the chief officers who were summoned by the Assembly for questioning in exercise of the Assembly’s oversight mandate.

Moreover, the County Chief is expected to defend himself against allegations of gross misconduct of leading an illegal land invasion and acting in contempt of court immediately after assuming office.

Yesterday,  Kingi ruled that Governor Mutai will appear before a plenary of the whole House where his grounds for ouster would be investigated.

Despite having initially pressing the duo options of having Mutai “tried” either through the plenary or special committee methods, the Speaker resorted to the Plenary after the impeachment motion moved by Cheruiyot lacked a seconder.