This archive report was first published on 10 October 2019.
On October 10, 2019, a historic vote took place in the Taita-Taveta County Assembly, where all 30 MCAs present voted in favour of an impeachment motion sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Harris Keke.
The motion aimed to remove Governor Granton Samboja from office, citing gross violation of the law and misconduct.
According to Mr Keke, the governor's actions, including misappropriation of funds and failure to assent to the 2019/2020 budget, had led to underdevelopment in the county.
Mr Keke also accused the governor of misleading residents by collecting signatures in a bid to dissolve the county government over a budget stalemate.
He claimed that the governor had falsely stated that the budget stand-off was caused by the MCAs, who had allocated themselves over Sh830 million to their ward kitty.
“The county assembly has continually implemented projects that were not budgeted for, leaving those with allocations unpaid for even after contractors completed their works,” Mr Keke said.
“The purported petition stated that we had inflated the budget, yet it was untrue. The stated grounds for dissolution are not sufficient,” he added.
Other allegations against the governor included failing to submit annual reports to the assembly as required by law, leading to a lack of accountability and hindering the assembly's oversight role.
Mr Samboja, through his Communication Director Dennis Onsarigo, denied the allegations, terming the impeachment a joke and stating that he had not been duly notified as required.
