Members of the Kilifi County Assembly on Monday evening impeached Speaker Teddy Mwambire over alleged gross misconduct, breach of the Assembly’s Standing Orders and incompetence.
The motion that was tabled by Tezo Ward Representative Thomas Chengo received support from 40 MCAs, with 10 opposing and three abstaining.
Mr Chengo accused the Speaker of undermining committee operations and interfering with the budget-making process, including the dissolution of the County Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee and replacing it with the Committee of the Whole House.
Following the vote, Deputy Speaker Naftal Kombo declared the seat vacant and assumed the role of Acting Speaker, and is expected to oversee House business until a new Speaker is elected within the prescribed 21-day period.
The County Assembly Clerk may notify the Senate Clerk within 48 hours as a formality because unlike in the impeachment of county governors, the Senate has no direct role in the impeachment of a county assembly speaker.
Mr. Mwambire, a former MP for Ganze Constituency, was absent during the proceedings but when contacted for comment later, he said he had instructed his lawyers to take up the matter in court.
He told Kenya News Agency in a telephone interview that the County Assembly had ignored three court orders, including one served to the assembly at 11.00 am Monday, and that he was leaving the matter in the hands of his lawyers and the Judiciary.
Majority Leader Ibrahim Abdi Athman alias Ibrahim Matumbo told journalists after the session that the chairman of the budget committee had earlier obtained a court order nullifying Mwambire’s actions and fueled the momentum for the impeachment motion.
“We’ve pursued this for a long time. Today was about confirming his misconduct and finally voting him out,” Mr Matumbo told journalists. “He has burdened us legally and political and it was time to lift that weight.”
He dismissed claims that Governor Gideon Mung’aro influenced the ouster or that the MCAs had been bribed to remove Mwambire, who is also a former member of the Assembly.
The legislators who supported the motion reportedly arrived at the Assembly in a tour bus after spending time at a luxurious hotel outside the county, allegedly hosted by a senior county official. Matumbo, however, refuted suggestions of political manipulation.
“As MCAs, we also run businesses and we can afford any hotel,” he said. “Now that we’ve won, I’m taking my team to Tanzania to celebrate,” he said.
By Emmanuel Masha and Jensiline Lugua
