UPDATE: The swearing-in of Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura as acting Governor was on Friday, December 18 postponed to a later date.
The postponement of the swearing was arrived at after the Assembly awaited the arrival of a magistrate who was to administer the oath of office.
The magistrate arrived late at the assembly hence missing the 10 a.m to 2 p.m time frame, leading to the postponement of the swearing in to Monday, December 21.
Nairobi county assembly speaker Benson Mutura is set to be officially sworn in as the acting Nairobi Governor following the impeachment of Mike Sonko on Thursday night.
Mutura will now be the county boss for a maximum period of 60-days under which the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will conduct a by-election.
The swearing-in is set to be done under tight security at City Hall with heavy police presence surrounding the county offices to ensure the ceremony is not interrupted.
The Nairobi Governor by-election will be held by February 15, 2021, which will be within 60 days of the Senate impeachment vote.
Sonko becomes the second governor to be impeached by the Senate following former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu in January 2020.
The Senate upheld the County Assembly's decision to impeach the former Nairobi Senator on Thursday night following a two-day hearing.
Senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka issued a gazette notice dated Friday, December 18 confirming the impeachment of Sonko.
"On Thursday, December 17, 2020, the Senate resolved to remove Hon. Mike Mbuvi Sonko, the Governor of Nairobi City County, from office, by impeachment," read part of a gazette notice.
Sonko was impeached on grounds of gross violation of the Constitution, abuse of office, gross misconduct and crimes under national law.
There was speculation about former Nairobi Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe taking charge considering he never formally resigned and his “departure” from office was also not gazetted.
Igathe unceremoniously left office in January 2018, citing working disagreements with the then Governor Sonko.
