Senators on Wednesday held a unanimous vote to uphold the removal from office by impeachment of Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Nding’u Waititu.
He was voted out by the Senate on three counts of charges which included;
Gross Violation of the Constitution & Public Finance Management Act, Crimes under the National Law and Gross Misconduct/Abuse of Office.
After three rounds of vote, the first count was supported by 27 senators while only 11 voted in favour of Waititu.
In the second charge – crimes under the national law, 28 senators upheld the charge, while 11 voted to drop the charge. And in the final charge which was an abuse of office, 28 voted against him but 11 voted in his favour.
Only a simple majority of 24 Senators was required to vote in support of the motion for it to pass.
Kiambu County boss is accused of contravening the public procurement and disposal act by allegedly influencing the award of lucrative tenders to companies associated with his immediate family and close relatives.
In the petition, the county boss is also accused of hiring over 600 casuals without the involvement of the County Public Service Board before later firing them. According to the MCAs, this exposed the county to risk of multiple suits and loss of public funds.
He is alleged to have violated the Constitution by forcefully dispossessing and unlawfully occupying the property of Cecilia Njoki Mbugua, a widow in Thika town.
The petition claims Waititu used his office to coerce the widow to transfer her parcel of land to his second wife in exchange for some favours in the county, an allegation the Governor strongly denies.
Embattled Waititu becomes the second Governor to be impeached in the republic of Kenya after Embu County Governor Martin Wambora’s impeachment was upheld by the Senate but was rescued by the court.
The impeachment proceedings against Governor Waititu were heard by the Senate plenary for two days where he pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
