Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika. Photo/Handout
By Newsflash Writer
A section of Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in Nakuru County has threatened to introduce an impeachment motion against Governor Susan Kihika if she fails to remove county officials implicated in an alleged Sh120 million corruption scandal.
The MCAs have given the governor a 14-day ultimatum to dismiss the officials, who include current and former senior officers of the Nakuru County Government, warning that failure to act could trigger impeachment proceedings against her.
Seven suspects, including county government officials and a contractor, were arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on July 29 over alleged conflict of interest and procurement fraud involving county contracts worth Sh120 million.
The arrests followed investigations into alleged irregularities in the award and implementation of county contracts.
On July 30, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) approved the prosecution of the suspects after reviewing an inquiry file submitted by the EACC.
In a statement issued on July 30, the ODPP said it had found sufficient evidence to support charges against the suspects.
“The DPP has approved draft charges against County Government of Nakuru officials,” the ODPP said.
Despite the approval of the prosecution, the implicated officials have continued holding their positions in the county government, prompting the MCAs to demand their immediate removal.
MCAs give Kihika deadline
Speaking to journalists in Nakuru on Thursday, August 6, the MCAs accused the governor of failing to take action against officials facing corruption allegations.
Lakeview MCA Alex Mbugua said the continued presence of the officials in the county administration had undermined public confidence in the county government.
“There are some people who were arrested by the EACC on corruption allegations. The commission confirmed that over Ksh120 million got lost from public coffers. Our appeal to the governor is that all these people must be removed from office,” said Mbugua.
“You have other people who can serve well in the same capacities. We don’t have confidence as Nakuru County if those individuals continue serving.”
Menengai Ward MCA Wilson Mwangi urged Kihika to allow the suspects to step aside and face investigations.
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“Governor, we appeal to you, if you are not together with these people, please remove them and bring on board other people. Let them be investigated so that we can know if they stole the funds,” Mwangi said.
Kabatini Ward MCA Paul Waweru Warege warned that the County Assembly would take action if the governor failed to comply with their demand.
“If those people will not have been removed within 14 days the County Assembly will take the necessary action,” he said.
Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja issued the strongest warning, setting August 14 as the deadline for Kihika to act.
“If by 14th [August] the governor will not have removed those people, we will just impeach her and her associates. That’s the deadline,” Karanja said.
The MCAs did not provide details of the impeachment grounds they would rely on, but their ultimatum sets the stage for a fresh confrontation between the County Assembly and the governor.
By the time of publishing, Kihika had not responded to Newsflash’s phone calls and text messages seeking her reaction to the MCAs’ threats.
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