Governor Granton Samboja survives impeachment

Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja has survived attempts by the ward reps in his county remove him from office after senators voted Thursday to reject all the allegations of misconduct levelled against him by the MCAs.

The House voted to adopt a report of the Special Committee which established none of the particulars of the allegations against the governor were substantiated.

As such, the petition did not meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment.

“The committee has investigated the matter in accordance with its mandate it finds none of the allegations against the governor substantiated,” the report of the committee chaired by  Embu Senator Njeru Ndwiga said.

However, the committee recommended that the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) investigates three of the seven charges leveled against the governor and his administration with a view of filing criminal charges against hi

The Taita Taveta assembly impeached Mr Samboja on October 9.

The MCAs laid out seven counts of abuse of office against him but he dashed to court and obtained orders baring the Senate from proceeding with the process until the matter in court is determined.

On Wednesday, however, Senate Deputy Speaker Kithure Kindiki dismissed the court injunction saying it interfered with the work of Parliament and that the Legislature had the right to reject such orders.

Prof Kindiki also noted that such injunctions undermine the stature of Parliament as the constitutional organ directly elected by the people to exercise their sovereign will.

“The unfettered but solemn privilege of Parliament to proceed unhindered by the Judiciary and the Executive can be moderated by the reality that the Executive can veto legislation and courts in exercise of their judicial authority and retain the residual power to declare any legislation or other output of Parliament illegal, unlawful or unconstitutional,” he said.

“Such court orders have no effect on the National Assembly, the Senate or any of their committees. In the unlikely event of such court orders, the two chambers and their committees shall proceed unabated, unfettered and unhindered as may be directed by respective speakers of Parliament," he added.

The Supreme Court has also pronounced itself in the matter. In the Petition No 2 of 2013, it observed that the court will not question each and every procedural infraction that may occur in either House of Parliament.

“The court cannot supervise the workings of Parliament. The institutional comity of the three arms of government must not be endangered by the unwarranted intrusions into the workings of one arm by the other,” the judges of the Supreme Court observed.

He issued the remarks while delivering a ruling in response to the High Court order that barred the Senate from proceeding with Mr Samboja’s impeachment.

RESPECT

Prof Kindiki further questioned the rationale behind a subordinate court defying the edict of a superior court in the Samboja case and called for judicial restraint.

He argued that attempts to injunct Parliament are inimical to the desirable levels of institutional comity and cordial relations among the branches of government, warning they are tantamount to subversion of the Constitution.

Prof Kindiki called for inter-institutional respect among the three arms of government and declared that courts cannot stop or attempt to prevent the Legislature from undertaking its constitutional mandate.

“The crown jewel of inter -ranch relations is inter-institutional respect and deference, in a mutual, not unilateral manner, on the basis of reciprocity. Parliament ought to respect the Judiciary and vice versa," he said.