Kawira Mwangaza's tenure as governor is once again hanging on a thread after the Senate set plans in motion aimed at lifting the High Court's order stopping her removal as Meru governor.
While responding to a petition filed by Mwangaza in Nairobi, the Senate on Wednesday pointed out a blunder that Mwangaza made which could cost her the gubernatorial seat.
According to the Senate, Mwangaza sued Speaker Amason Kingi while filing her petition leaving out the house in its entirety and the senators who had voted to uphold her impeachment.
The senators are now seeking to join the case arguing that only they can answer the issues raised that touched on the proceedings before the House.
"The omission of the Senate of the Republic of Kenya from these proceedings renders the petition incurably defective,” reads part of the petition.
The Senate also argued that the High Court provided open-ended timelines with no indication of when the verdict on the application would be given or when the main case would be heard.
They also accused the High Court of violating the principles of natural justice, which provides that parties have a right to be heard before adverse orders are made against them.
The High Court reinstated Mwangaza's governorship on August 21, 2024, after the Senate voted to kick her out.
This is after Mwangaza, through her lawyer Eliud Mutuma, filed a petition to challenge the senate's decision and obtained orders barring her removal from office.
Senators voted to send her home based on three charges in which she was found guilty.
“The senators, having voted to uphold the charges against the Meru governor, Governor Kawira Mwangaza ceases to hold office,” ruled Speaker Amason Kingi in a vote that went past midnight at the tail-end of last month.
If the senate's petition sails through, Kawira Mwangaza will become the third governor to exit the office through impeachment after Kiambu’s Ferdinand Waititu and Nairobi’s Mike Sonko in 2020.
