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Kisii County Deputy Governor Robert Monda has been impeached.
The Kisii County Assembly members impeached the DG on Thursday evening after 53 members voted in favour of the ouster motion.
Monda was kicked out of office on grounds of abuse of office with claims of bribery attached to the impeachment motion facing him.
A paltry 15, however, opposed the impeachment motion.
The Deputy Governor did not address journalists, but those who were early opposed to the motion said the impeachment signalled death to democracy.
Monda denied claims of graft when he appeared before the assembly on Thursday morning.
He denied the claim he had extorted a bribe to influence the employment of one Denis Misati, the youth in the Centre of the ouster motion filed against him by Ichuni ward MCA Wycliffe Siocha.
While there is evidence of cash transactions between his Mpesa and some bank accounts of the aggrieved, the payment was about a debt that was being repaid to him by the young Misati’s father.
About Sh 500,000 was forwarded to his contact in two instalments as a refund for money he had early extended to Misati’s father, a family friend of many years, he said.
It is however through the cordial relationship with Misati’s that had made them free to reach out to each other for help.
“They (the Misatis) had visited me in my house and later, I and the father withdrew to talk issues as friends when I asked if he could refund the money I had extended to him to enable me to travel out of which he obliged and instructed some, including his son and wife to facilitate the refund to me and which they did from the cop bank to my account,” Monda told the assembly in defence.
He however denied using the same money to influence a failed employment opportunity of Misati’s at Gusii Water and Sanitation Company.
This arose after the portion of the same money was forwarded to Ms Lucy Muthoni, the managing director of the Gwasco.
What is regarded as bribery was in fact ‘money that strayed into a wrong contact’, Monda said adding that he discovered the anomaly the following morning.
“I did make the effort to have the money transferred to me so that I could direct it to one Gladys Aminga who I had contracted to do transportation work for me,” he said
And regarding the family relationship with brother Reuben Monda resulting in his arrest after an altercation, the Deputy Governor said he had reported the matter to the police who were better placed to handle it than fighting with machetes as brothers.
“The matter is still active with the police. For those questioning me, I may ask what is better. Reporting the matter to the police or fighting with pangas as others do?” he added.
Monda had sought Katwa Kigeni and Ochoki Wilkins as his defence.
Wycliff Siocha (ODM) is seeking Monda’s ouster on account of abuse of office.
The three counts of charges are linked to bribery and the arrest of his brother Reuben Monda over a domestic squabble.