Kericho Governor Eric Mutai has survived an impeachment motion in the Senate, securing his position and continuing to serve as the county boss. Senators voted to acquit the governor with a decisive 26 against 16.
First, the senators needed to vote on whether the threshold for impeaching the governor had been met. 26 of the 42 senators who voted felt that the threshold had not been met; one senator abstained, while 16 felt it had been met.
This concluded the process, as it determined that the governor's impeachment by the County Assembly was not in accordance with the law. Therefore, the matters raised by the County Assembly against the governor did not warrant a vote.
The Senate vote on the threshold matter thus annulled the County Assembly's impeachment and secured the governor's position. He will now continue to serve as governor of Kericho County.
The impeachment proceedings stemmed from a series of charges, including gross misconduct and abuse of office, which were initially brought by the Kericho County Assembly.
According to the documents presented by the assembly to the Senate, the motion had passed after being supported by 33 members of the assembly. This number became a key point of contention at the Senate.
During the debate before the final vote, some senators challenged the validity of the evidence presented by the county assembly. Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi sided with the governor's legal team, claiming the initial electronic vote was marred by technical issues.
He referred to presented evidence that showed the IP addresses of some voters were located outside the assembly, indicating that some MCAs had cast their votes from remote locations, including as far as Ahero in Kisumu and Kapsabet in Nandi.
Similarly, Taita Taveta Senator Danston Mungatana also questioned the evidence provided by the county assembly. He argued that based on the evidence presented, the constitutional threshold of 32 MCAs required to impeach the governor had not been met.
During the trial, concerns were raised regarding whether the initial 32-MCA threshold required for the impeachment at the county level had been legally met. The debate threatened to derail the entire process.
Speaker Kingi, however, had ruled that the constitutional threshold had been satisfied, paving the way for senators to debate the charges and before ultimately casting the final vote on the matter.
The impeachment motion against the Governor was initiated by the Kericho County Assembly, which accused him of gross violation of the Constitution, misuse of office, and gross misconduct.
The Senate trial, which started on Wednesday August 27, lasted three days with both the County Assembly and Governor Mutai's legal teams given time to present their cases.
On Thursday, August 28, the Governor strongly defended himself against the motion. His legal team questioned the electronic voting system used by the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) to vote for his removal.
Mutai claimed that the required number of 32 MCAs had not been reached, arguing that only 29 had legally voted.
While the Assembly says 33 MCAs supported his removal, the Governor insists that four of those votes were actually cast in his favour.
His lawyers argued that those votes were meant to end the impeachment process before it could move forward.
Impeachment
Mutai was first impeached following a chaotic session on Friday, August 15, 2025. The impeachment motion, proposed by Sigowet MCA Kiprotich Rogony, received strong support with 33 MCAs voting to remove the governor.
Chaos broke out in the Assembly right after the Speaker confirmed Mutai's impeachment. Some MCAs were injured during the chaos, and others were taken to the hospital.
This is the second time in less than a year that Mutai was impeachment by the Kericho County Assembly.
Kericho Governor Eric Mutai Saved by Senate, Again Breaking News
