Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju on Monday prevailed upon a section of members of the Kiambu County Assembly — who are pushing for the impeachment of Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his deputy James Nyoro — to drop the motions, saying they were portraying President Uhuru Kenyatta in bad light.
The motion to impeach Mr Nyoro was moved by Witethie MCA Julius Macharia Taki last week while that of Mr Waititu was moved by Ndenderu Ward Rep Solomon Kinuthia, who accused the governor of gross misconduct and abuse of office.
Mr Taki had accused the deputy governor of gross violation of the Constitution and the County Governments Act, citing abuse of office and physical and mental incapacity to perform the functions of the deputy governor.
On Tuesday, Mr Taki told the Nation that he opted to drop the impeachment motion against Mr Nyoro after Mr Tuju summoned him to the Jubilee Headquarters in Pangani, Nairobi, and told him the move was in bad taste at a time President Uhuru Kenyatta is preaching peace and reconciliation in the country.
Yesterday, Mr Taki wrote formally to the Speaker informing him that he has withdrawn the motion against Mr Nyoro with immediate effect.
In a letter dated December 10, 2019, Mr Taki says his decision was based on the outcome of the meeting he had yesterday with the Jubilee Party leadership in Nairobi.
“Following a consultative meeting of Members of the County Assembly from the Jubilee Party held yesterday, Monday, December 9, 2019, at Jubilee Party headquarters, the Jubilee Party requested the Members of the County Assembly to seek reconciliation as a way of resolving the issue of pending removal of the governor and the deputy governor,” reads the letter in part.
“Further, the party reached out to the sponsors of the two motions and urged them to withdraw the same. In view of the above and pursuant to provisions of Standing Order 71(2), I wish to withdraw the motion of notice on removal of the deputy governor. The purpose of this letter is therefore to notify you of the above decision for your action,” the letter adds.
Youth executive Karungo Thangwa, a close ally of Mr Waititu, wondered why the removal of the motion to impeach Mr Nyoro was selective and did not apply to the governor.
“In the spirit of reconciliation and through the intervention of Jubilee Party, the mover of the motion to impeach the deputy governor has withdrawn his motion. Both the movers of the motions to impeach Waititu and Nyoro held a meeting with Tuju yesterday and were asked to drop the motions.
“We now wait to see whether the mover of the motion to impeach Waititu will follow suit,” said Mr Thangwa.
Mr Waititu was in late July barred by an anti-corruption court from accessing the county headquarters after being accused of graft.
The governor, his wife and senior county government officials are accused of irregularly awarding tenders worth Sh588 million.
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