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"id": 693246,
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"content": "assembly went ahead to vote - 32 to 0 - on the Motion without the benefit of our defence, contrary to Section 4 as read with Section 5 of The Fair Administration of Justice Act, 2015, under which any person charged with any offence in judicial or a quasi-judicial proceedings is entitled to legal representation. My constitutional rights were denied and I seek justice from this august House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, further developments after the impeachment reveal how this plot was hatched and progressed. On Monday, 5th September, 2016, hon. Kabando Wa Kabando, the Member for Mukurweini, with four other Members of Parliament, namely hon. Kanini Kega from Kieni, hon. Peter Weru, hon. Mary Wambui from Othaya, the 32 MCAs who had voted for the impeachment, plus all the gubernatorial candidates for the 2017 elections broke into my office ostensibly to inform my staff that they were safe despite my having been removed as Governor of Nyeri. They then went to celebrate. In a press conference held thereafter - of which we have the footage - they asked the Senate not to interfere with the work of MCAs and ensure that they confirm the impeachment. They further warned the Senator of Nyeri County, Sen. Kagwe, not to interfere and to respect “the wishes of the Nyeri people”. In conclusion, I would like to inform the Members that on the night in question, when the 32 MCAs spent the night in the precincts of the County Assembly of Nyeri, they were frantically calling and telling me that I was letting matters get out of hand and risked harassment and possible impeachment by the Senate, while they could easily organize for me to pay only two of them a sum of Kshs200,000 to get myself out of the hook. I told them that I was not interested. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have a career spanning a period of 40 years both in the Government service and public life. I have a reputation to protect regarding my personal integrity. That is why I have decided to come to this House for my case to be heard by a respectable body within the Constitution; a body that respects the laws and the principles of fair administration of justice. I have been before this House on two occasions; first, on my own volition, when I appeared before the Committee of Finance chaired by the Sen. Billow Kerrow seeking assistance from this House on financial issues in Nyeri County. Secondly, I have been before the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) of this House without any coercion. I am here by choice and confident that I will get justice. As you look through these charges, you will find that they are issues of operational nature. Indeed, allow me to quote one of the charges where I am accused of not paying Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and their staff on time. Money paid to MCAs and the staff is based on a ceiling set by this House. This is money remitted to the county treasury through a requisition by the county treasurer. This money is only available when you get a disbursement from the National Treasury. As I speak, we have not had such a disbursement and the salaries are still unpaid. Therefore, to now ask the Governor of Nyeri County to step aside as Governor because the National Treasury has not released Exchequer to the entire country, it is not only unfair, but totally unjustifiable. You will see that kind of trend running across these charges. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stop there to my give legal counsel a chance to go through the issues. As I said, I am here by choice and I know I will get justice. We shall demonstrate in each of these charges that there is no basis or merit for my removal from office because the threshold in terms of the Constitution requirement has not been achieved. There has been no public The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}