Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza is currently requesting the Senate’s involvement to mediate the growing discord with the Members of County Assembly (MCAs). In a letter to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Kawira explained that she had previously reconciled with the MCAs following a failed impeachment attempt last year, and they had been cooperating well. However, recently, conflicts started resurfacing.
She pointed out that, as an independent ticket holder for the county’s top position, she does not necessarily have MCAs aligned with her to advocate for the administration’s goals in the Assembly. Kawira further alleged that both the Assembly’s majority and minority parties have had meetings where they decided to withdraw their support for her and pursue a second impeachment attempt.
She mentioned her reliance on the support of the majority party, the UDA Party, in the Assembly to advance the executive’s agenda. According to her, on September 23, 2023, the UDA Party, led by Hon. Evans Mawira, announced their withdrawal of support for the Governor and their intention to propose an impeachment motion on grounds of ‘incompetence.’
The Deputy Party (the minority party in the County Assembly of Meru) also held a meeting on September 29, 2023, where they declared the withdrawal of their support for the Governor.
Kawira claimed that since that day, members of the County Assembly who had expressed support for her government were facing harassment by the Assembly’s Majority and Minority Whips. Some of these members were even removed from the House’s sectoral committees.
The Governor accused Senator Murungi Kathuri and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi of sabotaging her leadership and attempting to politically control her deputy.
She now seeks the intervention of the Senate’s standing committee on devolution to mediate the dispute and resolve the apparent differences between herself and the MCAs.
Kawira also alleged that her Deputy Governor, Isaac Mutuma M’ethingia, had been influenced by the County Senator, the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, and Members of Parliament from Meru County to support their efforts to remove her from office on grounds of ‘incompetence.’ She expressed her readiness to provide evidence of this.
Furthermore, Kawira declined an invitation to appear before the Meru County Assembly to address the ongoing conflict with Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma M’ethingia, likening her position to that of the President. She cited legal provisions that exempt the Head of State from appearing in Parliament except during impeachment proceedings and speeches.