A legal technicality on Monday spared Kericho Governor Erick Mutai of what could have otherwise been embarrassing allegations of sexual indecency in the Senate.
The county assembly had accused the county chief of engaging in indecent and unnatural sexual behaviour.
In addition, the ward reps accused the governor of forcing women to engage in dangerous, unconsented, unprotected and anal sex.
However, the senators terminated the removal motion on the strength of a preliminary objection raised by the governor through his lawyer Katwa Kigen.
The governor argued that the county assembly did not meet the two-thirds threshold when they impeached him.
Some 31 of the 47 MCAs voted to remove Mutai. But the county boss said the assembly needed to raise 32 votes to impeach him.
After hours of debate, Speaker Amason Kingi ruled that the matter be subjected to a vote by all the 47 delegations (elected senators).
In a precedent-setting decision, 34 senators voted to uphold a preliminary objection raised by the governor while 10 voted against it. This is the first time the Senate has terminated an impeachment case at the preliminary objection stage.
Already, the assembly, in its preliminary remarks through lawyer Elias Mutuma, sought protection of witnesses who allegedly endured the horrendous acts by the governor.
“You will notice from the presentation and charges read that one of our witnesses is a young lady who will be appearing before the Senate to testify on instances of sexual exploitation, molestation to the extent of being forced into anal sex by the governor,” Mutuma said.
“We have made an application to have this witness protected so that she is not exposed to the world.”
Addressing a press conference after his acquittal, the governor, while threatening legal action against his accusers, said the allegations are the most personal with the potential to break his family