Blow to Mutai as Kingi rejects bid to terminate proceedings on technicality

Embattled Kericho Governor Eric Mutai yesterday suffered a major setback after the Senate rejected his attempt to terminate his impeachment case on technical grounds.

 This is even as the besieged county boss dismissed his impeachment as pure malice by the county assembly, laced with deep political interests.

 “This is a well-orchestrated political conspiracy to remove the governor of Kericho because of political interests and expedition,” the governor said.

 Mutai said the speaker of the county assembly aspires to be the governor of Kericho, thus his impeachment.

 He said most of the claims levelled against him are full of malice, arguing that he is directly responsible for the issues raised to sustain his ouster.

The governor spoke moments after Senate Speaker Amason Kingi dismissed his preliminary objections as premature, paving the way for a full trial.

Kingi said the Senate must first hear evidence before determining the integrity of the vote that ousted the governor, as he had claimed.

 Mutai, represented by lawyers Katwa Kigen and Peter Wanyama, had challenged the legality and procedure of the county assembly’s impeachment, arguing that the constitutionally required two-thirds threshold was not met.

 He further claimed the electronic voting system used was flawed, producing an inaccurate tally.

 The governor has lined up 18 Kericho MCAs as witnesses to dispute the results.

 Kingi ruled that the objections raised involved disputed facts, not points of law, and could only be resolved through evidence and cross-examination.

 “This is not to say that the objection raised by the governor is not important. It is indeed fundamental. The Senate must decide, one way or the other, whether the threshold for impeachment was met,” he said.

 He noted that unlike the October 2024 impeachment attempt—where the Senate only resolved a legal question on whether the threshold was 31 or 32 votes—the current case contests both the tally and the transparency of the voting process.

 “The real question before us is only the stage at which that question is mature for determination. Since this matter involves contested facts requiring the adducing of evidence, it will be determined by hearing both parties,” Kingi ruled.

 He directed that the Senate will, at the conclusion of hearings and before voting on the charges, determine whether the required two-thirds majority of 32 MCAs was attained.

 If not, the proceedings will collapse. If the threshold is confirmed, the House will then decide whether the charges against Mutai have been substantiated.

 Kingi therefore allowed the objection only to the extent that it was premature and subsumed it into the main hearing.

 Mutai’s legal team argued that while the assembly reported 33 votes in favour of impeachment, only 29 MCAs could have lawfully supported it as 18 members either abstained or opposed.

 “The required statutory threshold is 32 members. It was therefore not achieved,” Kigen said.

 Mutai also attacked the integrity of the online voting platform used, saying it lacked basic security safeguards.

 MCAs reportedly logged in using ID and payroll numbers sent via SMS, without passwords or identity verification. He claimed this allowed impersonation, vote manipulation and breaches of confidentiality.

 “The voting process was so deficient and manipulated that the Senate cannot rely on it,” Mutai said, further alleging that some MCAs without phones or Internet access were still counted among those who voted.

 In one instance, he claimed, the motion’s sponsor, Kiprotich Rogony, fraudulently voted on behalf of another member.

 Ongoya, for the assembly, defended the system, saying it was a legitimate and compliant method of voting.

 He dismissed Mutai’s claims as “sensationalism,” noting that MCAs were technologically equipped, having received laptops in 2024.

 “The log entries showing multiple votes were not evidence of double voting but duplications during printing of the logs,” Ongoya said.

 He added that Standing Orders allowed electronic voting, and any alleged irregularities should be tested through cross-examination of witnesses such as Wanyama, who admitted logging into the system.

 The hearing now proceeds to the evidence stage, where both sides will be required to prove or disprove the validity of the impeachment vote before the Senate makes its final determination.

  INSTANT ANALYSIS

 The governor faces charges of gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office, and gross misconduct. Under the charges of gross violation of the constitution and misuse of county funds, Mutai is accused of authorising fictitious payments worth Sh85.7 million for undelivered goods, inflated contracts and incomplete works. Among the irregular claims were the supposed maintenance of 15 residential houses, overpriced supplies and agricultural inputs that never reached farmers. He is further charged with contravening procurement laws by splitting contracts, neglecting to conduct market surveys, and paying suppliers in advance despite Kericho county accumulating pending bills of Sh1.1 billion.