Abdi Guyo Survives Impeachment as Senators Approve His Objection that MCAs Never Debated His Ouster
- On Tuesday, July 8, a majority of senators voted in favour of a motion to save the embattled Isiolo governor, Abdi Ibrahim Guyo
- Governor Guyo, through preliminary objections, tabled evidence that showed the Isiolo County Assembly did not hold a sitting to impeach him
- Speaker Amason Kingi announced that the impeachment proceedings had terminated after most of the senators agreed with the governor's preliminary arguments
Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over four years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Nairobi - Isiolo governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo has survived an impeachment motion at the Senate.
Source: Facebook
Was Abdi Guyo impeached?
On Tuesday, July 8, 31 senators voted to approve the motion contesting the procedure used by the Isiolo County Assembly in impeaching Guyo.
Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot moved a motion on the preliminary issues after the embattled governor contested whether MCAs held a sitting.
At least 12 senators voted against the motion after Speaker Amason Kingi ruled that the Senate should determine by vote the preliminary objection on whether the County Assembly of Isiolo sat and debated the ouster motion.
The speaker in his final orders stated that the outcome of the vote showed the hearing proceedings against the Isiolo governor had been terminated forthwith.
"The Senate finds that the County Assembly of Isiolo did not appropriately hold sittings on the 18th June 2025, and 26th of June 2025, to table, debate, and pass a vote on the motion for the proposed removal from office by impeachment of the Governor of Isiolo County, Hon. Abdi Hassan. The impeachment proceedings terminate forthwith," Kingi declared.
What were Abdi Guyo's defence?
The governor's legal team, led by Eric Theuri and Elisha Ongoya, had argued that the County Assembly of Isiolo never held sittings on June 18 and 26 to debate the impeachment motion.
"It is our submission that the County Assembly of Isiolo did not sit on 18th June 2025, when the said impeachment motion is said to have been introduced in the Assembly, nor on 26th June 2025, when the motion is said to have been approved," Ongoya said.
In his submission, Theuri argued that senators could not debate a motion, yet the MCAs never passed a resolution on the matter.
"The question we are raising is not one of technicalities. It goes to the root of the dispute that is before the Senate. There must be a resolution of the County Assembly of Isiolo. In the absence of a resolution, the jurisdiction of the Senate has not been properly involved," Theuri argued.
Guyo's legal team also argued that there was an existing court order quashing the impeachment motion against the embattled Isiolo governor.
During the heated debate, a majority of the senators argued that the assembly of Isiolo had not demonstrated that there was a sitting in the Isiolo County Assembly to debate and approve the ouster motion.
Source: Twitter
Why MCAs impeached Abdi Guyo
The assembly accused the governor of appointing 31 chief officers instead of the 18 provided for in the County Executive Staff Establishment of July 2022, despite the county having only 6 departments.
He was also accused of appointing chief officers for a term of under two years, thereby creating a climate of fear and uncertainty, contrary to Article 73(1)(b) of the Constitution, and failing to renew the contracts of County Executive Committee Members, significantly affecting the continuity of service delivery in the county.
Guyo is also accused of appointing two Deputy County Secretaries to positions that are neither recognised by law nor provided for in the County Staff Establishment.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
