Impeachment proceedings against Governor Mwangaza begin this morning

Senators are meeting this morning to consider the articles of impeachment of controversial Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.

The first item on the agenda, according to the order of business, is a one-hour closed preliminary hearing following the impeachment of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza by the County Assembly.

Preliminary hearings then take place, during which the rules of the hearing are set out and time allocations are given to the individual parties.

The charges against Governor Kawira will then be read out before the county assembly is called upon to make its 30-minute opening address.

Next, the Governor's representative will make opening remarks. The afternoon session will begin at 2:30 p.m. The County Assembly will present witness testimony (if any) and conduct cross-examination and deposition. The session will last four hours and will continue until 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday's session will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the Governor or his representative speaking. The session will last four hours and end at 2:00 p.m.

The afternoon session on Tuesday is reserved for questions and clarifications from senators before closing arguments are made and senators vote on whether to uphold or reject the impeachment proceedings against them.

Kawira is accused of gross violation of the constitution, misconduct and abuse of office.

She had previously survived impeachment trials in November 2023 and December 2022, despite a total of five attempts by the Assembly to remove her. If the Senate votes to uphold her impeachment, she will be removed from office and her running mate will take over.

Conversely, the Speaker of the Senate will inform the Speaker of the Meru County Assembly if the charges are dismissed.

If the charges are dropped, a new attempt to bring the same allegations before the District Assembly can only be made after a period of three months.

The Senate will also accept or reject the nomination of Douglas Kanja for Inspector General of Police.