Governor Erick Mutai has asked President William Ruto to dissolve the county government amid highly charged leadership wrangles in the county.
The under-siege governor announced this at a press conference hours after a second impeachment motion was submitted to the Kericho County Assembly.
During his press conference on Wednesday at the county headquarters, the governor accused other leaders of sabotage in the county, calling for the dissolution of the entire administration.
“I am therefore officially pursuing a constitutional petition for the dissolution of the County Government of Kericho under Article 192 of the Constitution of Kenya,” Mutai announced.
The governor further revealed he will be embarking on a countywide drive to collect signatures to back the petition to dissolve the county.
He added, "I invite the residents of Kericho to consider and pass a constitutional petition for the dissolution of the county government. Tomorrow, we will begin the collection of signatures."
Mutai explained that the move to dissolve his own government was to force a fresh election, since he believes his current administration is intent on sabotaging him.
“Let’s go for a fresh election and let the people decide who should lead them. My administration will not continue in this manner. We will not be held hostage. We hope that when the President receives Kericho’s petition, he will respect the people’s will and allow us all to seek a fresh mandate,” he added.
Since Mutai took office in 2022, the county assembly impeached Mutai before surviving in the Senate. He is now staring at a second impeachment bid filed on August 6 by Sigowet Ward MCA Kiprotich Rogony.
Rogony filed the motion hours after reports emerged that the governor had a night meeting on Tuesday, trying to convince his COs and CECs to stand by him – a request which was turned down.
Mutai survived the initial impeachment motion after 34 Senators voted in his favour, despite 31 County MCAs initially passing the motion to oust him.
Regarding the dissolution of a county government, the process can be initiated under two main circumstances, as outlined in Article 192 of the Constitution. In one case, the President may suspend the county government in an emergency caused by internal conflict.
Similarly, a county government can be suspended by the President in other exceptional circumstances, as defined by legislation, if the county government is found to be operating inefficiently.
