A new legislative proposal aims to shield governors from impeachment within the first six months of their term. The County Governments (State Officers’ Removal from Office) Procedure Bill, 2024, sponsored by Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa, seeks to establish a more robust legal framework for the removal of county state officers, including governors, deputy governors, county executives, county secretaries, and county assembly speakers.
“This Bill is necessitated by the lack of a comprehensive statutory framework for the removal, from office, of the said four categories of county state officers,” the Bill reads in part. The current provisions under the County Governments Act, 2012 are deemed too general.
The proposed law, which has been introduced in the Senate for its first reading, stipulates that no motion for the removal of a county governor by impeachment shall be brought before the lapse of six months from the date of assumption of office of the county governor.
Furthermore, ward representatives are prohibited from reintroducing an impeachment motion against a governor within 90 days of an initial ouster attempt.
Senator Thang’wa’s Bill also includes provisions for the process of initiating an impeachment. An MCA seeking to introduce an ouster motion must secure the signatures of at least a third of the assembly members.
The clerk will then confirm and forward the motion to the speaker for communication in the assembly, followed by publication in local dailies.
The Senate will verify the impeachment documents and, if compliant, a special committee will proceed with the impeachment process. If the Senate upholds any impeachment charge, the county governor shall cease to hold office.
The Bill also safeguards the rights of county governors and deputies, allowing them representation during the proceedings.
“A county governor shall have the right to appear and be represented before the Senate, a special committee of the Senate, the county assembly, or the tribunal,” it states.
