By Shadrack Nyakoe
A new political showdown is unfolding in Nyamira County, where Governor Amos Nyaribo is once again staring at an impeachment attempt his third in just two years after ward representatives initiated fresh proceedings to push him out of office.
A specially convened sitting on Monday morning set the stage for the renewed battle. Speaker Thadeus Nyabaro, through an official notice published in the Kenya Gazette on November 13, said the Assembly had been summoned solely to introduce a motion seeking Nyaribo’s removal.
The motion has been fronted by Bonyamatuta MCA Julius Kimwomi Matwere, who accuses the governor of violating the Constitution and failing in key governance obligations. If admitted, the motion will begin yet another fraught process that could send Nyaribo before the Senate for trial.
Nyaribo, who ascended to the county’s top seat in 2020 following the death of former governor John Nyagarama, has weathered two similar storms before. In October 2023, he survived a bruising impeachment attempt where MCAs cited mismanagement, nepotism and failure to remit statutory deductions. The fallout from that episode left the Assembly bitterly split, with rival factions operating separate sittings—one of them, led by then-ousted speaker Enock Okero, even holding parallel sessions outside the official chambers under the banner Bunge Mashinani.
It took months of litigation and high court affirmation of Okero’s removal to reunite the Assembly. But the unity was short-lived. In September 2024, another push emerged—this time led by nominated MCA Evans Matunda. The bid narrowly collapsed after pro-impeachment members secured 22 votes, falling short by a single ballot needed to reach the two-thirds threshold.
With three seats currently vacant due to impending by-elections, the Assembly now has 32 active members. For Nyaribo, the arithmetic is tight he must convince at least 12 MCAs to stand with him, while his opponents need 21 votes to prevail.
The renewed quest to eject the governor comes barely two weeks after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) raided his homes and offices in a probe linked to a Sh382 million procurement scandal. On October 29, anti-graft detectives descended on the residences and workplaces of the governor and several senior county officials as part of investigations into the controversial tender for constructing new county government offices. The contract, awarded to Spentech Engineering Limited, is suspected to have flouted procurement laws.
Nyaribo has rejected the allegations, insisting the tender was processed under the late Nyagarama’s administration, long before he took office.
EACC has also flagged several other county officials as persons of interest, among them Director of Housing and Physical Planning Lameck Machuki Nyariki, Roads Director Peris Mose, Chief Officer for Finance Asberth Maobe and Chief Officer for Roads Josphat Oruru.
As the Assembly resumes its political combat, Nyamira is once again bracing for weeks of tension, backroom lobbying and heightened uncertainty signalling that the county’s long-running governance battles are far from over.
