NAIROBI, Kenya – The Senate on Wednesday opened the impeachment trial of Kericho Governor Erick Mutai in proceedings closely watched across the country.
The trial began with a closed-door pre-hearing session at 9 a.m., where senators reviewed rules of procedure and the structure of the hearings.
The public session followed at 10 a.m. with the introduction of the parties — members of the Kericho County Assembly (MCA) who initiated the impeachment motion and Governor Mutai’s defence team.
At 11 a.m., charges against the governor were formally read out, paving the way for a 90-minute session on preliminary issues.
A lunch break was scheduled before both sides delivered 30-minute opening statements from 2:30 p.m.
The afternoon session was set aside for evidence presentation. The County Assembly, represented by 12 lawyers led by Elisha Ongoya, was allocated up to three hours to call and re-examine witnesses, while Mutai’s defence, led by Katwa Kigen, was granted two hours for cross-examination.
The case took an early twist when Ongoya sought to introduce additional documents, including payment vouchers, staff redeployment memos, Mpesa statements, and termination letters.
The governor’s lawyers strongly objected, arguing the late submission denied them time to review the materials.
“Mr Speaker sir, we strongly object to attempts to introduce new evidence at this point because we will not have had the opportunity to look at them and respond,” Kigen told the Senate.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, however, allowed the documents, ruling that they had been omitted by mistake during compilation and did not amount to fresh evidence.
The trial is expected to run into subsequent sittings until the Senate delivers a verdict on whether to uphold or dismiss the impeachment motion.
