Nyamira governor Nyaribo impeached for the third time
Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo has been impeached for the third time now by a majority of twenty-three Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) while twelve did not turn up.
The embattled governor is facing allegations of gross misconduct, misuse of office, and irregular appointments.
This is the third attempt to remove him from office amid growing divisions within the County Assembly.
At the time of voting, there were 28 MCAs were present in the Assembly when the vote was cast.
However, Speaker Thadeus Nyabaro allowed six of those present to vote on behalf of their absent colleagues to attain the threshold required to send it to the Senate.
MCAs disregarded a sworn affidavit by the 12 absentees and voted on behalf of six.
Nyaribo faced several charges that include abuse of office in the motion sponsored by Bonyamatuta MCA Kimwomi Matwere.
The governor, who rose to power in late 2020 following the death of his predecessor John Nyagarama, has in the past survived similar attempts twice, with the accusations mirroring each other in both instances.
In October 2023, the MCAs had sought to impeach Nyaribo on claims of mismanagement, nepotism and failure to attempt statutory deductions, which he survived, but it left a divided Assembly, which was split twice.
For several months, a faction led by ousted speaker Enock Okero conducted their parallel session dubbed Bunge Mashinani from outside the official Assembly chambers.
It took several court cases and interventions to reconcile the MCAs, and with the removal of Okero as speaker upheld by the high court, to have all the MCAs hold one sitting.
Less than a year later, in September 2024, nominated MCA Evans Matunda sponsored a second bid, which was defeated after they failed to reach the threshold of two-thirds. Some 22 pro-impeachment MCAs voted but fell short by just one to make it the threshold required of 23 to send Nyaribo to the Senate for trial.
With three impending by-elections, the Assembly currently has 32 out of the 35 members, meaning Nyaribo has to marshal 12 members to his side if he were to survive the fresh onslaught.
