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"content": "evidence from the County Assembly, there is no evidence which they have submitted whatsoever that supports any of those charges. The reports which they have ostensibly submitted are reports of the Controller of Budget, reports of the Auditor-General and their own internal reports. So, if you look at it from that fulsome perspective, you get the impression that something is seriously wrong with these charges. Despite these problems in terms of the way the charges have been drafted, we have a credible defence on each and every allegation. Throughout this hearing, we will be demonstrating that no such violation exists. If, indeed, there is a violation, then that is a violation which is not gross and linked to the Governor but a violation which cannot attract the provisions of Article 181 of Constitution because Article 181 of the Constitution, as we will submit, has been interpreted. It provides the basis upon which impeachment charges are conceptualized and drafted. If there is a violation of Article 181 of the Constitution, then no such impeachment proceedings can be accepted by this Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Senate is exercising a quasi-judicial function. The implication of that is that we will be asking the Senate to look at the issues in broad totality. For instance, there is a fundamental issue which we think is legitimate and genuine which if examined critically can lead to the finding that all these charges are not substantiated. This is it. At the county assembly level, the Governor was not given an opportunity to defend these allegations through legal counsel, contrary to the provisions of the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015. In our view, under Standing Order No.1 of the County Assembly of Nyeri, the Speaker is required to make a ruling. While making that ruling, he is guided by the Constitution because there are certain principles in law which can never be deviated. One of the principles is the requirement to be heard. Even the devil himself must be heard. So, it is absolutely critical that this Senate makes a finding on that particular issue because it is part of our submission that you cannot impeach a governor at the county assembly level without giving that governor opportunity to be heard, either in person or through legal counsel. If you do that, then you have violated all manner of principles known in law. That is an issue which we will be asking this Senate to look at, so that we lay proper basis for the implementation of devolution in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, lastly, there are certain challenges to the implementation of devolution. A county government is not the governor. There are numerous structures in the county government for service delivery. In these structures, you will not find perfection. So, where there are issues in terms of problems which the Governor called “operational in nature”, do you impeach the Governor because of these operational challenges? Definitely, not! The law governing impeachment is not based on the principle. Unfortunately, this House found that impeachment is based on collective responsibility but the Court of Appeal has interpreted that and said impeachment is based on personal culpability. There is a paragraph which we will be reading throughout these impeachment proceedings to the extent that whereas political responsibility and collective accountability are issues which are the bedrock of governance in this country, for purposes of impeachment, there must be an aspect of personal culpability. There must be something which the Governor did wrong in person. Throughout these proceedings, we will be inviting you to look at that issue. Is there anything which the Governor did wrong at a personal level? If you find any, vote to impeach. Our submission is that if you look at the way the charges have been drafted, you will not see the aspect of the Governor’s personal culpability. 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."
}