Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has called her impeachment a fraud and vowed to file a strong legal fight in the coming days.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, a day after her deputy Isaac Mutuma was sworn in after the High Court confirmed her dismissal on Friday last week, Mwangaza stated that she will not be quiet.
“I will pursue all legal avenues to clear my name and expose the injustices that have been perpetrated against me,” she said.
“This is not just my fight; it is a fight for every woman who dares to dream of leadership in a society that often seeks to crush those dreams.”
“In the coming days, I will be exploring all legal and constitutional avenues to challenge this injustice,” she added.
“I will also continue to engage with the people of Meru to ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are met.”
Mwangaza blamed her impeachment on a group of male leaders, whom she claimed orchestrated her removal. She claimed that the leaders were terrified of her “unwavering dedication to the truth and the welfare of the people of Meru.”
Mwangaza stated she was targeted because she refused to compromise her ideals and participate in political manipulation.
“My impeachment was not based on any legitimate grounds, but was instead a politically motivated scheme…,” Mwangaza continued. “The impeachment process was a sham orchestrated by predominantly male politicians who manipulated the system to remove me from office.”
Mwangaza was speaking publicly for the first time since the court dismissed a plea she sought to contest the Senate’s August 20, 2024 decision to send her packing.
The Senate’s decision came after the county Assembly of Meru moved to impeach her for the third time on August 8, with 40 out of 69 MCAs voting in favor of the impeachment resolution proposed by Majority Leader Zipporah Kinya.
Mwangaza had stated in her appeal that the impeachment procedure violated due process since she was denied the ability to defend herself and there was no public participation.
However, in his verdict on Friday, March 14, Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed the case, claiming that the impeachment process followed sufficient legal requirements.
“The amended petition dated December 23, 2024, has not met the required legal threshold for this court to disturb the decision of the Senate,” he said.
“The gazette notice dated August 20, 2024, issued by the Senate communicating the decision to remove the petitioner from office as the governor of Meru, the impeachment is affirmed,” the judge ruled.
The ruling was hailed with song and dance throughout Meru County, with scenes of elation repeated during Mutuma’s oath-taking ceremony on Monday at Mwendantu grounds in Meru.
“The orchestrators, planners, actors, sponsors, financiers, script writers of my impeachment were overwhelmed by joy and could no longer hide behind their mask anymore,” Mwangaza said.
In her address, made in both her native tongue and English, the former county chief accused the national government of halting what she described as an undemocratic process.
“The voices of the Meru residents who elected me were ignored. Even the courts, which should have been my refuge, were interfered with to block my access to justice,” she said.
Mwangaza defied all odds to become Meru’s third governor, defeating a male-dominated field of experienced politicians on an independent ticket in the August 9, 2022 general elections.
