A tense political drama is unfolding after Members of the Kericho County Assembly (MCAs) accused some senators of being bribed, allegedly with over Sh50 million, to prevent the impeachment of Governor Erick Mutai.
MCAs backing the impeachment claim that substantial sums changed hands in the Senate just before the impeachment vote last week on Friday.
While no formal evidence or detailed accounts have been publicly presented, these allegations have added a layer of suspicion to an already sensitive political ordeal.
Governor Mutai escaped removal from office twice, both times on procedural grounds in the Senate.
The first impeachment attempt unfolded in October 2024, when the county assembly, amid a heated vote, held that 31 of 47 MCAs supported the motion, just shy of the two-thirds threshold required by law.
In a significant development, Governor Mutai’s legal team successfully raised a preliminary objection arguing that the motion lacked the necessary numerical backing.
The Senate sided with this argument: 34 senators upheld the procedure objection, compared to 10 who opposed it, resulting in the termination of the impeachment hearing
Fast forward to August 2025, and Mutai faced a second impeachment bid.
Over three tense days, senators debated whether the County Assembly had legitimately met the threshold.
In a narrow but emphatic move, the Senate concluded that it had not.
Twenty-six senators voted that the threshold was not met, 16 disagreed, and one abstained, prompting Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to terminate the proceedings once again
During the second hearing, Governor Mutai’s defense raised severe doubts about the electronic voting system used by the MCAs.
Though 33 votes were logged in favor of impeachment, the governor questioned the integrity of the process, alleging the system was vulnerable and improperly used.
Although an ICT Authority expert confirmed the system’s security, the doubts cast helped sway the Senate.
The grounds for the impeachment itself were deeply serious.
The MCAs accused Mutai of misappropriating county funds, including fictitious payments totaling Sh85 million and misuse of donor funds, particularly the Sh351 million allocated under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme (NAVCDP).
Other charges included abuse of office, illegal dismissals, and gross misconduct.
