A Political Fall: The Rise and Fall of Governor Kawira Mwangaza

 My heart goes out to the former Meru Governor, Hon. Kawira Mwangaza, who faced an untimely and unfortunate impeachment in the wee hours of 12:00 a.m. yesterday. It is almost as if the timing was meant to add insult to injury, as though her political opponents couldn’t wait to see her fall from grace. Being a woman in the male-dominated political landscape of Kenya, Kawira always had the odds stacked against her, especially after she emerged victorious against a Meru political giant in 2022. This wasn’t just her first rodeo with the Senate; it was her third impeachment hearing, having narrowly escaped the noose twice before. But this time, her political rope frayed under the weight of charges that, frankly, seem weaker than a cup of tea made with a used teabag.

 

The grounds for her impeachment, gross violation of the Constitution, gross misconduct, and abuse of office, read like a list of sins conjured up in a hurry by an eager prosecutor. Violating the Constitution by dismissing officials without the proper channels? Last I checked, the Governor is the top dog in Meru. If anyone should have the final say on who stays and who goes, it’s her. And let’s be real here, not every dismissal warrants a full-blown constitutional crisis. The claim that she misled the public about funds raised for a tragic cause is not only a stretch but a thinly veiled attempt to paint her as a villain in a situation where the facts are murkier than the muddy waters of the Kathita River.

 

Then there’s the charge of abuse of office. Overpaying doctors and running a manual payroll? This sounds more like a case of poor administrative judgment than a criminal act. Yes, mistakes were made, but were they impeachable offenses? Hardly. And let us not forget, a bloated workforce is not unique to Meru; it is practically a Kenyan pastime. If we impeached every leader who oversaw a bloated payroll, we’d have more impeachments than we have tea leaves in Kericho. It seems more like a witch hunt than a justified removal, an attempt to get rid of a political thorn in the side rather than address any serious legal breaches.

 

However, as much as I disagree with the Senate’s decision, there’s a case to be made for the necessity of this political move. Meru County has been stuck in a relentless cycle of power struggles and court battles, with the Governor constantly at odds with her assembly and other county leaders. In such an environment, governance grinds to a halt, and the people of Meru suffer. Perhaps, this impeachment, however flawed in its reasoning, was a necessary evil—a political decision to break the deadlock and allow Meru to move forward. As much as we might sympathize with Kawira, the fact remains that a leader must be able to unite and work with their people, not constantly fight against them. In this regard, she may have fallen short.

 

So here we are, down from seven women governors to six—a sad day for the representation of women in Kenyan politics. But in the brutal game of politics, survival of the fittest isn’t just a theory, it’s the rule. Governor Kawira should have been the one calling the shots, not the one dodging them. As they say in the rough and tumble world of politics, you are either the hunter or the hunted. Unfortunately for Kawira, this time, she found herself on the wrong end of the political spear.