Bill shields governors from abuse

A proposed law seeks to pave the way for the public to petition either House for the removal of county governors and let MPs have a say in the impeachment.

Soon, you will be able to initiate such a removal process on grounds of gross violation of the Constitution if MPs agree to the proposed amendments to the County Governments Act.

The process would involve drafting a petition and presenting it to either the Senate or the National Assembly for legislators to follow it through.

The County Governments (Amendment) Bill 2014 — drafted by Eldas MP Adan Keynan — is now formally before Parliament.

Mr Keynan tabled it Wednesday morning. If it sails through the 349-member National Assembly, the grounds of removal shall be gross violation of the Constitution as specified in Article 181 (1) of the Constitution.

A member of the public may present such a petition through the Clerk of the relevant House or through an MP, with the consent of the Speaker.

The objective is to have Parliament and the public involved in the removal of a governor from office.

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Where a petition has been successfully submitted, a 13-member committee would be appointed from among members of the respective House to investigate the charges against the governor in question.

The committee can invite the public to submit views about the impeachment petition.

The team would be expected to report to the House within 60 days of its appointment, whether it finds the particulars of allegations against the governor substantiated or not. The House can then either reject or adopt the report of the committee.

Mr Keynan said the Bill was intended “to ensure the removal of a governor is free from political abuse informed by personal interests”.

He said the Bill would actualise Article 119 of the Constitution as it articulates the right of the public to petition Parliament on matters within its authority.

The Article says every person has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter, including to enact, amend or repeal any legislation.

There has been concern about the high number of impeachment cases against governors initiated by MCAs. Some were seen as witch-hunts, the latest being the impeachment attempt of Machakos Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala, who fell out with governor Alfred Mutua.

While debating Mr Kiala’s impeachment motion, Senators proposed intra-county dispute resolution teams for resolution of disputes within the counties at early stages, given the high number of impeachment cases.