The fight of Kericho Governor Erick Mutai to remain in office has come under increasing pressure after evidence presented in the Senate painted a damning picture of alleged extortion, financial mismanagement and ghost projects.
The hearing, which began on August 27, has revealed a web of accusations that could end Mutai’s tenure as county boss.
The Kericho County Assembly has accused Governor Mutai of coercing senior staff into sending him money under duress, with some witnesses claiming they contributed over Ksh1.5 million from their personal savings to meet his demands.
Former Member of the County Executive Committee Edna Tanui told the senate that she was dismissed after refusing to continue funding the Governor’s frequent requests, which she alleged were often made via phone calls and personal aides.
Tanui revealed that in a course of two years, she had cumulatively contributed a total of Ksh1.5 million to the Governor’s insatiable demand for money for the duration she served as a CEC.
‘’The requests were made through phone calls. You are called and told I have something urgent to attend to waziri. Kindly send me some Ksh10,000, Ksh20,000, or sometimes he would say he needs hundreds of thousands,’’ Tanui explained.
Tanui and other county officials were fired by the governor, in what she suspected was punishment for refusing to continue contributing to the funds.
Evidence presented to the Senate by Advocate Elisha Ongaya detailed how the county allegedly lost Ksh8.4 million due to double retention payments made to eight companies. According to the advocate, the payments were part of a pattern of financial abuse under Mutai’s administration.
Another nerve-wracking evidence against the governor was a recent Ksh9 million for the Londiani accident victims fund, which remains unaccounted for.
Ongoya told the Senate that the Assembly had compiled vouchers and transaction records pointing to misappropriation, challenging the Governor’s defence that he had no direct role in the payments.
The governor was also accused of invading private land to establish a county dumping site. He was also accused of overpricing a house renovation costing Ksh2 million, but didn’t do it.
In his defence, Mutai dismissed the impeachment as a politically orchestrated conspiracy. He claimed the charges were maliciously timed and that key reports were only presented to him after the impeachment motion had already been filed.
Mutai accused the County Assembly Speaker of harbouring ambitions to succeed him, suggesting the impeachment was a strategic move to clear the path for a power grab.
