Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi is staring at an ouster from office after a section of Members of County Assembly threatened to impeach him over what they described as a health crisis plaguing the county.
Speaking on Tuesday, October 14, the MCAs faulted Wamatangi for failing to resolve a months-long dispute with health workers that has threatened to bring health services in the county to a standstill.
The MCAs also took issue with Wamatangi’s approach to the situation, criticising him for engaging in a war of words with the health workers instead of focusing on conflict resolution.
“I would like to tell the people of Kiambu that some of the MCAs and other leaders are going to stand by you in this matter of impeachment,” noted Susan Njeri, a nominated MCA.
“If someone can stand on an altar and even dispute the figures of babies who have passed away in the past few months across Kiambu, then that is someone who does not even deserve to hold a leadership position. He deserves to go home like yesterday,” she asserted.
Currently, health workers in Kiambu have been on strike for more than three months, threatening to paralyse health services in the county.
However, Governor Wamatangi has disputed such reports, noting that the reported figure of 136 babies dying in health facilities during the strike was cooked up by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) to paint the county in a bad light.
As per Wamatangi, the perceived health crisis was a political witch hunt aimed at discrediting the county’s health efforts, adding that his rivals were out to get him.
Also, Kiambu County Chief Officer for Health Patrick Nyagah dismissed reports of a paralysis, assuring that the county’s hospitals were up and running, despite the ongoing dispute with KMPDU.
The situation in Kiambu attracted the attention of Members of Parliament (MPs), who called for the transfer of the county’s health services to the national government.
Also, lobby groups previously gave the Kiambu county government seven days to address the issue; failure of which they will forward a petition to the national government to dissolve the county.
If they make good on their threats, this would be the second time that Kiambu MCAs have threatened to oust Wamatangi, with the Governor surviving the initial attempt after MCAs shelved the plans following talks with Wamatangi.
