By Martin Masai
Machakos County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance, Economic Planning and Revenue Management Catherine Mutanu yesterday declined to receive summons requiring her to appear before the County Assembly Select Committee.
The committee is hearing an impeachment motion against her.
Assembly sources told The Anchor that an official from the County Assembly Registry dispatched to serve the summons returned without a signed return of service after unsuccessful attempts to deliver the documents at the County headquarters.
According to sources familiar with the process, the Assembly official was referred from one office to another, with registry officials at both the County Headquarters and the Finance Department allegedly declining to receive the summons on Mutanu’s behalf.
The official’s final stop was the office of Mutanu’s secretary, who is said to have declined to accept the documents, reportedly informing the Assembly officer that she had been instructed not to receive them.
It is unknown if the minister was in her office at the time.
“It is true the summons were not received,” said an Assembly official who requested anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the matter.
“We are therefore not sure if she will appear, but the Assembly has discharged its responsibility of according her an opportunity to be heard,” the source added.
Mutanu is scheduled to appear before the Select Committee on Friday, where she still has an opportunity to defend herself in person or through legal counsel.
She is expected to respond to evidence presented on Thursday by Mbiuni MCA Peter Kilonzo, the mover of the impeachment motion.
What are the repercussions of failing to appear? First, she will have lost an opportunity to be heard. It may also show that Mutanu and the Wavinya Ndeti administration are not ready to subject the executive to scrutiny before the Assembly and have no justifiable cause to act as per the accusations.
If she fails to appear, Mutanu will have terminally undermined her chances of succes if she opted to use a court process to save her skin.
While it would not be in her best interests to skip the committee, Mutanu may be banking on the perceived strength of the Wiper party in the Assembly to wait and defeat the motion on the floor of the House.
But then, Wiper sources say the minister has hurt so many MCAs across the political divide, that talk about a party majority may not be helpful to her.
Efforts to confirm if Mutanu would appear before the committee did not succeed after enquiry by The Anchor.
Assembly sources further claimed that rejection of Assembly summons has become a recurring practice at the County headquarters.
The sources cited a similar incident last Monday involving County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki.
According to the Assembly, summons requiring him to appear before another committee were also not accepted after an official in his office waved away the Assembly staff delivering the legal call.
The impeachment proceedings against Mutanu stem from allegations contained in the motion adopted by the County Assembly, with the Select Committee expected to determine whether the accusations are substantiated before reporting back to the House.
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