Governor Mwangaza wants me to resign – Meru DG Isaac Mutuma
A fresh row is brewing in Meru County after Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma accused Governor Kawira Mwangaza of a plot to kick him out of office.
Mutuma on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, alleged that the county boss had been sending threatening messages to him through proxies, asking him to resign.
"We are operating in a very hostile environment in Meru and as deputy governor, I have said time and again that things are escalating from bad to worse," Mutuma said.
"Mama Governor through her proxies are sending threats to me, telling me that mama is proposing that I resign and get the package to engage in other issues out there," the DG added.
Mwangaza and her deputy have been at loggerheads over her style of leadership since they were elected on an independent ticket in the August 2022 General Election.
The governor, who has survived impeachment twice, has previously accused the deputy governor of being behind an elaborate scheme to hound her out of office.
Days before Mwangaza's second impeachment by the Meru County Assembly in October last year, the DG had accused the governor of moving his office from the current Meru County headquarters, where the governors’ offices are located, to the old headquarters.
Mutuma also accused Mwangaza of unilaterally withdrawing his personnel as well as denying his office funding.
“My office Secretariat has been reduced to zero personnel or withdrawn without prior attention brought to me,” Mutuma lamented.
“I wish to inform the good people of Meru County that the executive arm of the government led by Her Excellency Honourable Bishop Faith Kawira Mwangaza has since allocated the executive office of the Deputy Governor operations kitty. The same has not been remitted to my office since February 2023, and as such, I have been running a public office with my own private money.”
The governor, however, denied the rift with her deputy, saying the matter had been blown out of proportion.
She accused the DG of working with her political opponents to undermine her.
"He must be ready to work with me so we can quickly deliver projects we promised the people of Meru ahead of last year's elections," Mwangaza said during an interview with a local vernacular radio station.
Despite the DG's accusations, Mwangaza survived the second impeachment a month later after the senate dismissed 11 charges levelled against her for lack of evidence.
The governor faced charges of misappropriation and misuse of resources, nepotism, bullying, illegal appointments, contempt of court, and naming a road after her husband illegally.
She had survived a similar impeachment motion in December 2022 after an 11-member committee of the Senate termed the charges against her as unsubstantiated.
