Kericho County Governor Hon (Dr) Erick Mutai has denied all the charges brought against him by the Kericho County Assembly as his impeachment hearing kicked off before the Senate, Monday morning. Appearing before Senators on the first day of the proceedings, Governor Mutai rejected every accusation read to him by Clerk of the Senate Mr Jeremiah Nyegenye, asserting his innocence in the face of allegations that threaten his leadership.

Governor Mutai faces a wide array of accusations, with the most prominent being gross violation of the Constitution and mismanagement of County Finances. The County Assembly alleges that the Governor misappropriated, misallocated and engaged in illegal drawings of County Revenue and County Finances. The charges accuse him of violating several provisions of the law, including Articles 10, 183, and 201 of the Constitution, as well as Sections 102 and 109 of the Public Finance Management Act.

One of the issues raised against the Governor is his alleged refusal to implement an automated system for revenue collection, despite the requirements of the Kericho County Rating Act No. 5 of 2019. According to the Assembly, this failure to automate revenue collection left the County's Finances vulnerable to pilferage, misappropriation and theft leading to significant revenue losses.

In addition, Governor Mutai is accused of obstructing the implementation of a tender awarded on 14th December 2023, for the procurement of the Integrated County Revenue Management System. 

Despite the tender being responsive, the County Assembly claims that the Governor frustrated the process, allegedly preventing crucial improvements in the County's Revenue Management System.

The Assembly further accuses him of disregarding a Valuation Roll that had been prepared and passed by the County Assembly back in 2016 and continuing to collect property rates based on an outdated Valuation Roll, which has resulted in substantial revenue losses for the County.

Another accusation levelled against the Governor involves the launch of the ‘Equalizer Kazi Mtaani’ Initiative. According to the charges, the Governor launched the programme on 31st August 2023 and allocated County funds to it without any legislative backing. Moreover, the initiative was allegedly undertaken without public participation or approval from both the County Assembly and the Controller of Budget, raising further concerns about transparency and accountability.

The County Assembly also blames Governor Mutai for misusing the County Emergency Fund in response to the Londiani accident, in which several victims were compensated using public funds. The Assembly argues that the Governor's actions were a cover-up for funds that had been raised by the public to support the victims but were misappropriated by a committee formed by the Governor to steer the fundraising efforts. Over Kshs. 9 million of public-raised funds reportedly went missing and the Assembly holds the Governor accountable for this misappropriation.

In the second charge of abuse of office, Governor Mutai stands accused of making illegal appointments, carrying out unlawful dismissals and transferring employees in violation of the law. The County Assembly claims that the Governor has usurped the constitutional and statutory functions of the County Public Service Board and in doing so has not only violated the rights of County employees but also undermined the integrity of the county administration. In addition, the Assembly accuses Governor Mutai of impeding the oversight role of the County Assembly which is constitutionally mandated to hold the executive accountable.

On the question of gross misconduct, Governor Mutai has been accused of engaging in acts of bullying, incitement and vilification of political opponents. He is also accused of indecent sexual conduct. The charges detail multiple complaints of Governor’s indecent and unnatural sexual behaviour by several women, who claim that the Governor forced them into unconsented anal sex and engaged in other forms of dangerous and unprotected sexual activity. These allegations, the Assembly argues constitute gross misconduct and unfitness to hold public office.

The County Assembly's legal team has sought protection for one of their key witnesses who is expected to testify on the allegations of sexual exploitation and molestation. 

"You will notice from the presentation and charges read that one of our witnesses is a young lady who will be appearing before Senate to testify on instances of sexual exploitation, molestation to the extent of being forced into anal sex by the Governor. To protect the identity of the witness, we have made an application to have this witness protected so that she is not exposed to the world," the Assembly’s Lead Counsel, Adv. Kimutai Bosek submitted. The Assembly’s legal team also sought the admission of an affidavit dated 13th October, 2024, which they argued was critical to the case. 

Meanwhile, Governor Mutai’s legal team filed a Preliminary Objection to the continuation of the hearing. They argued that the impeachment motion passed by the County Assembly did not meet the Constitutional threshold, as only 31 out of 47 Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) had voted to support the motion, falling short of the two-thirds majority required by law.

Additionally, the Governor’s defence team brought to the attention of the Senate an existing court order that had been issued to halt the impeachment process until a separate case challenging the impeachment was resolved in court.

Governor Mutai’s legal team, led by Counsel Katwa Kigen emphasized that any further proceedings in the Senate would be a violation of this court order.

While both legal teams agreed on procedural issues of admission of a well-paginated document by the Governor’s team and the submission of the 13th October affidavit, they differed sharply on nearly all other preliminary matters. 

The Senate is now deliberating on the objections, with many Senators already ruling out the Governor’s preliminary objections.

The hearing is set to continue with further deliberations on the preliminary objections this Monday afternoon.

The Kericho County Assembly plans to call five witnesses in support of their case, two of whom being elected MCAs namely Hon. Kiprotich Rogony of Sigowet Ward and Hon. Albert Kipkoech of Soliat Ward. 

Governor Mutai’s legal team on the other hand, intends to call their witnesses, including Governor Mutai himself.