Following the ruling, the government has announced that Mutuma M’Ethingia will be sworn in as Meru County’s new governor on Monday, March 17, 2025, at Mwendantu Grounds.
Meru County is set to have a new governor following the High Court’s decision to uphold the impeachment of Governor Kawira Mwangaza by the Senate.
Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia is now set to take over as the county’s new governor.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, March 14, Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled that the petition challenging her removal did not meet the legal threshold to overturn the Senate’s decision.
The judge affirmed that Mwangaza was accorded a fair hearing and dismissed her plea to invalidate the gazette notice confirming her removal.
“The court has assessed the totality of the impeachment process and found that she was given ample opportunity to present her case and respond to allegations levelled against her,” Justice Mwamuye said.
"...it is notified for information of the general public that the swearing-in ceremony of Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia, as the Governor of Meru County, shall take place on Monday, 17th March 2025, at Mwendantu Grounds, starting at 8.30 a.m.," part of the Gazette Notice dated March 14, 2025 says.
Who is Mutuma
Mutuma was elected as Meru deputy governor in the 2022 polls alongside Mwangaza without being sponsored by any political party.
They cruised to victory, crushing political titans in Meru including then-Governor Kiraitu Murungi and his predecessor Peter Munya.
Before his election, Mutuma served as a senior officer in the Kenya Prisons Service and worked as a Reverend in the Methodist Churches of Kenya.
He holds a Higher Diploma in Forensic Psychology and Criminology from the Kenya Institute of Studies in Criminal Justice, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from Kenya Methodist University.
Mutuma also holds a Master's Degree in Governance and Ethics from Mount Kenya University.
The Meru deputy governor has previously served as a Child Rights Advocate with Plan International, a youth representative for Habitat for Humanity in the Mount Kenya Region, and a Human Rights Officer and Inmate Rehabilitation Programme Implementer within the prison services.
