Kawira Mwangaza - besieged in and out of power

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza / FILE

Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza appears to be a woman under siege if events surrounding her political engagements immediately after she came into office in September 2022 are anything to go by.

With the odds stacked against her, Mwangaza floored a male-dominated lineup of political opponents, including incumbent Kiraitu Murungi – a man who had never lost an election in his 30-year political career - to clinch the Meru gubernatorial seat at the August 8, 2022, polls.

And she did it in style, winning the seat on an Independent ticket in a county that overwhelmingly voted for UDA presidential candidate William Ruto.

But the honeymoon soon turned sour even. MCAs started baying for her blood and reaffirmed their commitment to kick her out of office on December 14, 2022.

The Meru County Assembly impeached Mwangaza, with 67 out of 69 MCAs voting in favour of the motion.

The Senate, however, came to her rescue and overturned the decision on December 30, 2022, citing insufficient evidence to support the charges levelled against her.

The county representatives through their lawyers, vowed to come back again with a fresh impeachment motion, this time around armed with sufficient evidence to support the ouster bid.

And true to their word, the County Assembly impeached her again on October 25, 2023, with 59 out of 69 MCAs supporting the motion.

The charges included misuse of public funds, nepotism, and contempt of court.

Again, the Senate came to her rescue and thrashed most of the allegations levelled against her and declined to uphold the impeachment.

Sensing danger that the ongoing infighting was disrupting service delivery to Meru people, the national government intervened with the then Deputy President mounting several mediation talks for the MCAs and Mwangaza to iron out their differences.

However, this intervention did little to suppress the burning desire by the county assembly to send Mwangaza packing.

On their third attempt, Mwangaza had seemingly run out of luck when 49 MCAs voted to impeach her on the grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and violation of the constitution.  

This time around, the Senate upheld the charges on August 21, 2024, leading to her removal from office.

She moved to court to challenge her removal from office, citing political witch hunt, and alleging that she was never given an opportunity to defend herself.

However, on March 14, 2025, the High Court affirmed the Senate's decision to uphold her impeachment saying the ouster process followed due diligence.

The verdict solidified her ouster and paved the way for her deputy, Isaac Mutuma, to be sworn in as the new Meru Governor on March 17, 2025.

Prior to the unprecedented impeachment, Mwangaza experienced multiple disruptions of her public events by police and rival groups.

On September 17, 2023, at Makiri in Igembe South, chaos erupted during an 'Okolea Programme' event as residents protested, destroying donations, including a cow and mattresses.

Ten individuals were arrested for unlawful assembly and assaulting police officers.

DP Kithure Kindiki, then serving as Interior CS, condemned the violence and warned against incitement in political gatherings.

On October 18, 2023, at Ruiga in Imenti Central, police again disrupted Mwangaza's charity event under the 'One Dairy Cow One Needy Family' initiative, suspecting it was part of the banned 'Okolea' program.

Mwangaza entered a police vehicle, claiming arrest.

"I am under arrest. The police officers don't want to take me to the police station. I have been held in a police car for two hours now," she wrote on Facebook.

However, police denied arresting her, attributing the incident to a misunderstanding.

Meru County Police Commander Gladys Rutere apologised.

"We received information that the governor was attending the banned Okolea meetings. However, we have established that this is a county government initiative. We apologise for the inconvenience."

Come August 8, 2024, as the Meru County Assembly debated her impeachment, clashes occurred between Mwangaza's supporters and opposing groups outside the assembly premises before police intervened and restored order.

The incidents reflect the political strife that characterised Mwangaza's tenure leading up to her eventual removal from office.

One would imagine that now that she’s an ordinary citizen, whoever so badly wanted her out of the way would rest easy.

However, events on Sunday paint a different picture raising questions on the identity of the secret force that’s out to ensure she remains silenced and her political comeback a pipedream.

Mwangaza was tear-gassed and her Mother’s Day event was disrupted by police.

She insisted that she had notified the authorities in advance, but was met with armed officers who blocked roads.

“Unanitupia teargas kwa nini? (Why are you teargassing me?),” she asked a police officer during the confrontation.

Mwangaza said she was there to preach the gospel.

“Sisi tumekuja kama kanisa. Tumetangaza mkutuno wetu wiki mzima kwa radio kwa TV zote…tumefika hapa tunakuta polisi wanatuzuia, wanasema ni orders from above,” she said while addressing her supporters.

(We came as church. We have been announcing our meeting the whole week on radio and all TV stations. WE got here and found police have blocked us, they are saying orders from above)

“Who is giving orders from above to prevent a governor from preaching? This is not a banana republic,” Mwangaza said.

“Everyone has rights and the gospel has a right to be preached.”