By Anchor Correspondents
The bitter standoff between the Machakos County Executive and the County Assembly has taken a dramatic turn after an MCA tabled a motion seeking the removal of Finance, Economic Planning, Revenue Management and ICT CECM Catherine Mutanu Raphael.
The move escalates a dispute that has increasingly paralysed relations between the two arms of government.
The impeachment motion, tabled by Mbiuni MCA Peter Kilonzo, accuses Mutanu of gross violation of the Constitution, abuse of office, incompetence and gross misconduct, citing among other issues the controversial implementation of the new land valuation roll, failure to release funds to the County Assembly despite exchequer disbursements, ballooning wage bills, pending bills and repeated failure to honour Assembly summons.
The motion marks the latest chapter in an increasingly hostile confrontation that has centred on the county’s new valuation roll.
Yesterday, the Assembly set up a committee to verify the claims and provide her with an opportunity to be heard.
Only days ago, the Assembly resolved that implementation of the revised valuation roll be suspended, arguing that the Executive was demanding higher land rates without the backing of a valid Finance Act.
Instead of the Finance CEC responding to the Assembly’s directive, Roads, Lands and Urban Development CEC Nathaniel Nganga twice fired back, arguing that the Assembly’s resolution had been overtaken by events after the county gazetted the new rates.
Nganga also questioned whether Speaker Anne Kiusya was competent to interpret the law, remarks that further inflamed an already tense relationship between the Executive and the legislature.
The impeachment motion now formally adopts the valuation roll dispute as one of the key grounds for Mutanu’s removal.
According to the motion, the Finance CEC implemented the valuation roll and demanded revised land rates without a valid County Finance Act, contrary to Articles 209 and 210 of the Constitution and the National Rating Act, 2024.
MCAs argue that the move undermined the Assembly’s legislative authority over taxation.
But The Anchor has established that the conflict extends well beyond the valuation roll.
Multiple Assembly sources revealed that the County Assembly has not received its operational allocation from the Executive since April despite exchequer releases from the National Treasury.
The funding delays have reportedly forced the Assembly to borrow money twice simply to pay salaries for MCAs and members of staff, exposing the depth of the financial standoff between the two institutions.
Those allegations also feature prominently in the impeachment motion, where MCAs accuse Mutanu of deliberately withholding funds appropriated to the Assembly, frustrating its constitutional oversight role.
The motion further accuses the Finance CEC of presiding over an unsustainable county wage bill.
It cites an advisory from the Controller of Budget indicating there was no budgetary allocation to support the county’s wage expenditure and references the Auditor-General’s report showing employee costs had risen to about 60 per cent of county receipts—well above the statutory ceiling of 35 per cent.
MCAs also fault Mutanu over pending bills amounting to KSh5.5 billion, saying failure to establish mechanisms for settlement has exposed the county to litigation, interest charges and disrupted service delivery.
Another major accusation is her repeated failure to appear before Assembly committees despite several invitations between April and June this year to explain financial matters, including the supplementary budget. The Assembly says she either sought postponements or failed to attend altogether.
Should the motion succeed, it will be forwarded to Governor Wavinya Ndeti with a recommendation that Mutanu be dismissed under Section 40 of the County Governments Act.
The impeachment bid signals a significant escalation in the power struggle between Governor Ndeti’s administration and the County Assembly.
What began as a disagreement over land rates has now evolved into a broader contest over financial control, constitutional oversight and the independence of the Assembly itself.
With accusations of illegal taxation, withholding of Assembly funds and open challenges to the Speaker’s authority now intertwined, the outcome of the impeachment process is likely to shape not only the future of the Finance docket but also the balance of power within Machakos County Government.
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