Benson Mutura to be sworn in as acting Nairobi Governor

Benson Mutura, the Nairobi County Assembly Speaker, is set to be sworn in as the acting Governor hours after Mike Sonko’s impeachment was upheld.

Also Read: Former MP Benson Mutura elected Nairobi County Assembly Speaker

On Friday, security was beefed up at City Hall with officers patrolling the environs in readiness for any arising skirmishes.

The Nairobi gubernatorial by-election is to be held by February 15, 2021, which will be within 60 days of the Senate impeachment vote.

Sonko is the second Governor in the country to be kicked out of office after former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu in January this year.

On Thursday night, the Senate voted on four charges to impeach Sonko.

They include gross violation of the Constitution and other laws; abuse of office; commission of crimes under the national laws and lacking the mental capability to run the county government.

On all the four charges, 27 Senators voted YES, 16 voted NO while two (Mutula Kilonzo and Johnson Sakaja) abstained.

The impeachment proceedings against Governor Sonko were heard by the Senate plenary for two days.

That Sonko was swimming against the currents was evident when he took on President Uhuru Kenyatta, in a series of verbal tirades, including sarcastically terming him ‘Nairobi’s Super Senator’.

His biggest challenge was the war he waged against the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) that is headed by Major General Abdalla Badi.

Additional report by Francis Gachuri