Impeachment threats won't shake us- Malombe

Malombe said the well-put strategies that include building consensus with dissenting MCAs leaves nothing to chance to tame forces out to derail and "cause destruction, peace and development plans for the county".

Speaking at a burial in Kalivu, Athi Ward in Kitui South on Saturday, the governor claimed the Tuesday  impending Kilonzo’s impeachment was a wide scheme by political sabourtes to sponsor ward representatives to discredit him in a well-crafted mischievous plot developed by corruption networks he had dismantled.

Turning to Athi MCA Muthama Kieti, who was present, Malombe said the saboteurs were fighting back by launching a propaganda war against him and his administration and asked the MCA to stay away.

“We have elaborate strategies to neutralise the impeachment and any other issues between us, the Executive and the Assembly. We will put them all in play simultaneously to beat our adversaries. If they beat this tactic, we will introduce another until we finish them,” Malombe said amid cheers from mourners.

Earlier, the besieged Finance Executive said the impending impeachment motion was a political smoke screen aimed at testing waters before a section of disgruntled MCA crafted a Motion to impeach the governor himself.

Kilonzo who served as the Wiper's Majority Leader in Assembly and Athi ward MCA in 2017-2022 asked his successor, Muthama Kieti not to be lured into the trick by joining the anti-Malombe crusaders and by supporting his ouster bid.

Malombe spoke hours after a notice of motion to impeach Kilonzo was tabled in the Assembly for debate last week.

In the motion drafted by Kiomo/Kyethani Ward Representative, Antony Musyoka, the CECM is accused, among other things, of alleged violation of the Constitution, incompetence, abuse of office and gross misconduct as the basis to impeach him.

The motion dubbed “the removal of Peter Kilonzo from the office by impeachment”, also seeks to oust the County Executive Committee Member on allegations of persistent delays in the submission of critical finance bills 2022, 2023 and 2024 which have reportedly impeded the efficient operation of Malombe’s administration.

The motion scheduled to be debated Tuesday at plenary sitting further accuses the besieged executive member of manipulating his office for personal gain and that he solicited for bribes from contractors in exchange to approve payments for county projects.

Mr Kilonzo faces more accusations of contravening Section 34 of the Leadership and Integrity Act 2012 by bullying and harassing county state officers including Chief Officers.

The mover of motion claims the executive member’s misconduct has led to public uproar and tainted the image of both county Assembly and the Executive.

“The Executive Member has caused embarrassment by bringing his office into disrepute contrary to the gamut of laws on conduct of state officers of his caliber. He has failed leadership and integrity test. He must be impeached,” MCA Musyoka says in the motion.

Another MCA said the procedure to present the motion of removal was water tight. “Motions are all about procedure and very little about their substance,” he said.

The move comes in the wake of a pull and push between the assembly and Governor Malombe.

The simmering battle pitting Malombe, on one hand, and Wiper Party allied MCAs and Speaker Kevin Kinengo, on the other, is threatening to rock the county as political temperatures flare.

The battle in the county which has been polarised into feuding camps also threatens to spoil the governor’s legacy as he exits office in 2027.

There is now a boiling war coupled with acrimony and bitter exchange between Malombe and members of the county assembly led by the youthful Speaker who is a lawyer by profession.

Malombe is serving his second and last term in office, having been elected first in 2013 but lost to his successor Charity Ngilu in 2017 only to reclaim the seat in 2022.

Speaking during a week-long inaugural Bunge Mashinani collaboration forum with residents at Migwani AIC Primary School in Mwingi West last week, Mr Katisya asked MCAs to use their oversight powers decisively to end what he called rampant theft of county revenue by unscrupulous county workers.

The Speaker accused Malombe of allegedly presiding over an administration that stole public funds with impunity while he watched indifferently.

MCAs Jeremiah Mutua (Nguni), Nicholas Mutemi (Kisasi) and Benjamin Mulandi (Mutonguni) were united in asserting that it is evident that in the last two years of Malombe’s tenure, only  small percentage of the revenue collected went into the county government’s account while the bulk disappeared into individuals’ pockets. 

The revelation comes in the wake of admission by the governor when he appeared before the Senate Public accounts a fortnight ago that indeed his administration had lost Sh11.74 million in unexplained circumstances.  

The governor was unable to satisfactorily explain why he has not taken punitive measures against culprits who are known to him.

Kinengo said the County Assembly of Kitui would not sit and watch helplessly as shocking revelations of absolute theft of county resources were being pocketed by individuals who went scot-free.

“There is a blatant theft of county resources through leakage in revenue collection whereby money ends up in people’s pockets. We will not let this culture of theft continue,” the Speaker angrily fumed.   

Barely a fortnight ago, Malombe declined to assent to 2024/2025 Supplementary Budget appropriation Bill, citing Sh133 million demanded by the Speaker and the assembly’s Budget Appropriation Committee for construction of the assembly’s block and MCAs’ allocation for buying land to establish their ward offices as unattainable.

Malombe returned a verdict that he would only avail Sh90 million and Sh33 million for the assembly’s block and MCAs’ offices respectively in the first share which the Kinengo and his team would not take kindly.

However, Kinengo said they would not let any county executive, leave alone the governor himself, and take the assembly for granted by refusing to abide by public resolutions to allocate funds where due and appropriate.   

The Speaker asked Dr Malombe to respect the assembly’s resolve or else prepare for a political war in his second and last tenure in office.

Without elaborating further, Kinengo said in every financial year, the county government of Kitui has been losing millions of shillings since 2019 in revenue leakages where money is collected from the business community and it is not accounted for or banked.

He said the assembly’s Public Accounts and Investment Committee deliberated and made recommendations on loss, unaccounted for revenue through corruption dealings and submitted the report to the Executive for action.