Nyeri MCAs sign Mutahi Kahiga impeachment motion in a lightning-fast assembly hall showdown that caught even seasoned political watchers off-guard, as over 21 assembly members inked their names to the explosive document by 8:00 a.m., thrusting Governor Mutahi Kahiga into the crosshairs of a recall drive fuelled by his controversial Raila Odinga death remarks and a laundry list of governance gripes. Over 25 Nyeri MCAs had already signed the impeachment motion this morning.
The assembly’s inner sanctum, usually a sleepy start to the week with tea steam curling from mugs, buzzed like a hornet’s nest as Majority Leader James Gichuki tabled the papers, his voice steady but eyes sharp: “This isn’t vengeance; it’s the voice of a county tired of unfulfilled promises and divisive tongues.”
The motion, a 15-page dossier drafted in hushed strategy sessions over the weekend, levels a barrage of charges against Kahiga – from alleged misuse of Sh2.5 billion in county health funds to “inciting ethnic discord” via his weekend funeral flub, where he quipped divine payback for perceived Nyanza favouritism.
By dawn’s early light, signatures piled up: 23 MCAs from the UDA-dominated house crossed the one-third threshold (21 needed), including defectors from Kahiga’s own camp who cited “betrayal of devolution dreams”.
“We elected him to build bridges, not burn them,” vented the ward rep from Mukurweini, her pen still smudged as she addressed a scrum of reporters outside the glass-fronted chambers, where curious farmers from nearby coffee co-ops gathered, murmuring over their walking sticks.
Kahiga’s downfall dance isn’t solo; it’s a sequel to his vice chair resignation yesterday, a self-inflicted wound from the same remarks that torched social media.
Insiders whisper the governor, holed up in his Tetu ranch with a skeleton security detail, dismissed the move as “orchestrated by Raila sympathisers” in a leaked WhatsApp voice note, vowing to “fight this in the courts and the courts of public opinion.”
But the assembly’s swift stroke – bypassing the usual weeks of committee probes – signals a house divided, with minority Azimio reps cheering the “accountability avalanche” while UDA elders scramble for damage control.
“Nyeri’s not a playground for personal crusades; it’s a powerhouse for progress,” the Azimio rep told Citizen TV, his tie askew from the morning’s frenzy.
This impeachment ink isn’t dry yet – the speaker must vet it within 14 days, teeing up a potential speaker’s veto or full plenary vote that could oust Kahiga by December, plunging the tea-scented county into caretaker chaos.
Echoes of Migori’s 2023 governor ouster linger: economic dips, stalled sewer projects, and a talent exodus that saw 500 nurses bolt for greener pastures.
For Mt Kenya’s political pot, it’s a pressure cooker pop – Ruto’s hustler heartland, where loyalty’s currency now questions if Kahiga’s candour crossed into career suicide.
Youth activists in Karatina’s bustling streets rallied by noon, placards waving “Impeach for Integrity”, blending grief for Odinga with demands for fiscal forensics on the Sh1.2 billion roads kitty that’s morphed into mud pits.
As the midday sun baked the assembly lawns, Nyeri’s MCAs signing Kahiga’s impeachment motion showed a republic’s raw reckoning: in the shadow of Aberdare peaks, power’s as fleeting as mist, and one off-script line can unravel a reign.
With national eyes on the vote, whispers swirl of a snap by-election that could flip the county blue. For Kahiga, the morning’s signatures sting like a fresh betrayal; for Nyeri’s 800,000 souls, it’s a shot at renewal – or rupture. The gavel falls soon; the ground, it seems, is already shifting.