The High Court has upheld the impeachment of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, sealing her fate after months of legal battles.
Delivering his ruling on Friday, March 14, Justice Bahati Mwamuye affirmed the Senate’s decision to remove Mwangaza from office.
He ruled that the Senate had acted in accordance with the Constitution when it upheld her impeachment by the Meru County Assembly over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and violation of the Constitution.
In her petition, Mwangaza had argued that the impeachment process was flawed and marred by chaos. However, Justice Mwamuye dismissed the claims, stating that she had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her allegations.
“The petitioner has not shown that the Senate’s analysis of the applicable law and evidence was so profoundly incorrect that no reasonable quasi-judicial body properly applying its mind to the law and the facts would have arrived at that conclusion and thus warranting interference by this court,” the judge ruled.
With this decision, Mwangaza, who has been fighting to retain her seat since her impeachment, now faces an uncertain political future. However, she still has the option of appealing the ruling in a higher court in a last-ditch effort to reclaim her position.
Following her removal from office, Meru Deputy Governor Rev. Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia is expected to be sworn in as the new governor, serving the remainder of Mwangaza’s term.
