List Of Successfully Impeached Governors Since 2013 and Charges.

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There are several impeached governors, however, some survived. 2010 constitution introduced a devolved system of government in Kenya, with two levels of government. Devolution led to the introduction of Governors, Senators, and even Members of the County Assembly (MCA). One of the main roles of the Senators is to act as a watchdog over the Governor who is in charge of County operations. Failure of the Governor to perform his or her functions may lead to an immediate impeachment.

Article 180 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides for the removal of a governor.

(1) A county governor may be removed from office on any of the following grounds–

Gross violation of this Constitution or any other law;
Where there are serious reasons for believing that the county government has committed a crime under national or international law;
Abuse of office or gross misconduct; or
Physical or mental incapacity to perform the functions of the office of county governor.

Since the introduction of devolved government in Kenya, Kenya has experienced several cases of Governors getting impeached (Impeached Governors), below is a List Of Successfully Impeached Governors.

1. Ferdinand Waititu

The Senate of Kenya voted for the removal of Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, after finding him guilty of three charges which were tabled before it by Kiambu County Assembly. Waititu became the first governor to enter the list of successfully Impeached Governors after being found guilty by the Senate.

The MCAs voted to impeach the governor on Dec 19, 2019.

List of Governors Who Died In Office from 2013!

Here is a synopsis of the charges against the governor;

1. Lack of accountability in the Management of county resources by incurring unsustainable debts and other pending obligations to the tune of 4 billion.

2. Disregarding the County Assembly as an arm of the County Government. Waititu allegedly diverted funds intended for use by the assembly to projects where he would obtain personal benefits through Irregular procurement.

3. Awarding Sh2.1 billion towards road tarmacking contracts against the approved Sh1.4 billion. By doing so, Waititu was violating the constitution of Kenya, 2010 Article 2019 (a), (d) (e) on principles of public finance. He exposed Kiambu to huge losses through potential suits for Breach of contract and poor pending bills.

4. Failure to establish the county budget and economic forum as stipulated in section 137 of the public finance management act 2012 as a result, the county has sabotaged public consumption as regard.

According to the speaker of the senate, Kenneth Lusaka, the failure was deliberate to create an atmosphere of chaos to facilitate that plunder and loss of public resources.

Criminal offenses charge. Waititu was accused of facilitating the irregular transfer of 0.135ha of land in January 2018 from one Cecilia Njoki Mbugua to Wamuyu Nyatu.

Governor Ferdinand Waititu moved to court to challenge his impeachment and installation of Governor James Nyoro. The High Court dismissed his petitions.

READ: Impeached Waititu Suffers Another Setback

2. Mike Sonko

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko entered the list of successfully Impeached Governors after he was first impeached by 88 members of the county assembly on December 3 2020 when they voted to support the impeachment motion while 2 others voted against the move. The flashy governor, always in love with gold, survived the first impeachment motion in February 2020 this year.

When the impeachment motion was taken to Senate, Senators voted to uphold the impeachment of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. The lawmakers voted on 11 charges related to gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office, gross misconduct, and crimes under national law against the governor.

The final blow came after Supreme Court ruled that Mike Sonko was fairly removed from office in December 2020. This earned Sonko a seat among Impeached Governors.

Many governors have been impeached however some survived the impeachment. The list of Successfully Impeached Governors seems not to be ending soon.