NAIROBI, Kenya – The Senate has launched a review of the impeachment process for governors in a bid to curb politically motivated and procedurally flawed attempts to remove county chiefs from office.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi said the move follows a string of collapsed impeachment motions at the Senate, most of which have been dismissed for failing to meet constitutional and legal thresholds.
Kingi has convened a joint meeting with county assembly speakers and the County Assembly Forum (CAF) to harmonise the process and ensure that future impeachment attempts are conducted lawfully.
“We can talk all we want, but if we don’t follow the law, any impeachment will go nowhere,” Kingi said, adding that many motions fail because assemblies “tie the hands of the Senate” by ignoring legal procedure.
The Speaker spoke after meeting Isiolo MCAs, who accused the Senate of shielding Governor Abdi Guyo when it dismissed their impeachment motion last month.
The Senate found that the MCAs had not held a lawful sitting to pass the motion, rendering it invalid.
Kingi said the repeated collapse of impeachment motions had undermined public confidence in the process, which was meant to serve as a tool of accountability but has increasingly become a political weapon.
“Unless assemblies conduct the process lawfully, governors will continue walking away scot-free,” he said.
Impeachments Collapsing on Technicalities
The Senate has in recent months handled several high-profile cases, including that of Kericho Governor Erick Mutai, who survived his second impeachment on a technicality.
Since 2022, the Senate has considered five impeachment motions against three governors — with only one resulting in removal from office.
Two other cases involved deputy governors in Siaya and Kisii, the latter being the only successful one.
Overall, the Senate has dealt with at least 20 impeachment cases since the advent of devolution in 2013, but only eight have been upheld after charges were found to have been substantiated.
Senators Call for Legal Precision
Several senators supported the Speaker’s call for reforms, saying assemblies must strictly adhere to due process and avoid turning impeachment into a political contest.
Kirinyaga Senator James Murango said removing a governor from office should be based on clear, irrefutable grounds.
“When you impeach a governor, you condemn them to political oblivion. The reasons must be beyond doubt, and the process must be flawless,” he said.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang warned that many assemblies rush to impeach governors for political gain rather than legal merit.
“MCAs are handing over a poisoned chalice to the Senate expecting it to process it. They need to get it right procedurally,” Kajwang said.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale added that flawed procedures make it impossible for the Senate to validate impeachments.
“It’s very difficult for senators to condemn a governor when the process itself borders on illegality,” he noted.
A Pattern of Political Battles
Analysts say the impeachment tool, initially designed as a check on executive excesses, has increasingly been weaponised in local political fights over budgets and succession.
Between 2013 and 2020, five governors faced impeachment attempts, but only that of former Embu Governor Martin Wambora was upheld — and later overturned by the courts.
Others, including Nyeri’s Nderitu Gachagua, Murang’a’s Mwangi wa Iria, Kericho’s Paul Chepkwony, and Taita Taveta’s Granton Samboja, survived.
With the upcoming Senate-County Assemblies consultative forum, Kingi hopes new reforms will “restore credibility” to a process that has become both legally fragile and politically charged.
“We want to ensure that only cases built on law — not vendetta — reach the Senate,” Kingi said.
