Taita Taveta governor Granton Samboja on Thursday, October 24 survived an impeachment motion after the Senate ruled that the allegations levelled against him were unsubstantiated.
The special hearing, chaired by Embu Senator Njeru Ndwiga defied a court ruling that had barred senators from continuing with the hearings on the impeachment motion.
Samboja had been accused of gross misconduct by his county assembly after he declined to sign the motion they passed over the 2019/2020 county budget.
The MCAs had cut the funds allocated to the county executive and awarded each of the 20 elected legislators Ksh41.5 million for ward development, while the 13 nominated ward reps were allocated Ksh500,000 each as “appreciation” for supporting the proposal.
On Wednesday, October 9, the county assembly passed the motion and impeached Governor Samboja for ignoring their efforts to reconcile with him after disagreeing over the budget.
The High Court in Nairobi on Thursday, October 17 had barred the Senate from debating the impeachment motion against Samboja.
However, the senate committee deliberated on the preliminary objection given by Samboja's Lawyer Nelson Havi and decided that the proceedings would go on.
