Politics
In a dramatic special sitting held, Monday, the Bomet County Assembly voted to impeach three County Executive Committee (CEC) Members.
The motion, presided over by Speaker, Cosmas Korir, seeks to remove Andrew Sigei (Economic Planning, Finance and ICT), Dr. Joseph Kirui (Administration, Public Service, and Special Programmes), and Kipkoech Ngetich (Roads, Transport, and Public Works) from their positions.
The Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) accused the three officials of gross violations of the 2010 Constitution, incompetence, abuse of office, and gross misconduct. The motion garnered significant support, with 29 MCAs voting in favor, five (5) abstaining, and only one voting against it. Three members were absent from the session.
The Assembly has formed Adhoc Committees to investigate the allegations against the CECs, before presenting their findings for further debate. “The Committees will verify the allegations raised against the three County Executives that have warranted their impeachment,” stated County Assembly Majority Leader, Paul Kirui, also the Ndanai/Abossi MCA.
Andrew Sigei faces allegations of violating the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, and the Public Finance Management (County Government) Regulations, displaying incompetence, and failing to meet revenue collection targets.
Kapletundo Ward representative, Nathan Kibet, who moved the motion, highlighted Sigei’s alleged misconduct and failure to act on anomalies noted in the April 2024 Budget implementation review Report by the Controller of Budget. The county’s revenue collection for the first nine months of the Financial Year 2023/2024 fell significantly short of its target, collecting only Sh. 157,105,283 against a budgeted figure of Sh 332,041,830.
Dr. Joseph Kirui faces removal due to allegations of failing to ensure payment to casual workers, non-payment of village managers, failure to remit statutory deductions, and poor working conditions for county staff. Additional allegations include stalled infrastructure projects, un-procedural renewal of employment contracts, physical assault within county premises, and failure to respond to County Assembly inquiries.
Merigi MCA, Peter Langat, who moved the motion, urged the County Governor to dismiss Kirui for his incapacity to perform the functions of his office. Kipkoech Ngetich, is accused of abuse of office, gross misappropriation of funds, exceeding budgetary allocations, irregular procurement practices, issuing fraudulent LPOs, lack of transparency and failure in resource management.
Sigor MCA, Peter Mutai, leading the motion against Ngetich, stated that the officer failed to uphold the dignity and respect of his office, having taken and subscribed to the Oath of Office according to the provisions of the Constitution. As the committees begin their investigations, the Assembly and the public await the findings that will determine the fate of the three CECs.