Kericho Governor Eric Mutai pleaded "not guilty" to all three grounds for the impeachment brought against him by the County Assembly as his trial began in the Senate on Wednesday, August 27.
Taking to the stand, Mutai listened keenly as the three charges of gross violation of the constitution and other laws, gross misconduct, and abuse of office were read out to him.
Despite the substantial accusations, the trial may come down to the technicality of the process used to oust the county boss. Lawyers for both parties had a heated exchange over the validity of the electronic vote taken by the MCAs on August 15.
According to the governor's defence team, led by Senior Counsel Katwa Kigen, the county legislators debuted a new system that had not been tried, arguing that it was not in order for it to be deployed for a sensitive matter like the impeachment of a governor.
