Catherine Mutanu resumes her job as CECM Finance

 Freshly reinstated as County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance, Catherine Mutanu has delivered a scathing rebuttal to the impeachment motion that nearly ended her tenure, labeling the accusations against her as "constitutionally defective," "speculative," and lacking credible evidence.

Speaking from her office at Machakos County Headquarters on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, Mutanu addressed the media alongside County Secretary Dr. Ndambuki Muya, just one day after Governor Wavinya Ndeti ordered her return to office following a High Court directive. 

Mutanu stated she did not get opportunity to substantively respond to the motion brought by Mbiuni MCA Peter Kilonzo during the earlier proceedings as she was fired before she could face the the adhoc committee led by Mua ward MCA Francis Ngunga. She however took opportunity to dismiss the exercise because the legal framework was flawed.

"The motion was untenable and was not supported by any credible evidence or factual material," Mutanu declared. "The four allegations levelled against me did not meet the constitutional threshold required to warrant impeachment."

She described the accusations as "general, speculative" and driven by "media hype" rather than facts. Regarding the charge of "gross violation" of the constitution concerning the county's wage bill, Catherine Mutanu argued that the mover failed to prove personal culpability. She noted that she assumed office on September 11, 2025, and could not be held responsible for historical employment decisions.

"50% of our wage bill is by the health sector... they have the CBS (Consolidated Bargaining System), there is a salary set by the [national government] and we have to obey," she explained, adding that the health sector employs over 50% of the county's staff. "The accuser did not prove that [the wage bill issue] can be attributed to me."

She farther noted that the county government has sealed loopholes to try to increase revenue collection to bridge the gap on wage bill.

Highlighting her department's performance, Mutanu pointed to a significant increase in the county's Own Source Revenue (OSR) as proof of growth.

"When I came in as the CEC finance... the revenue collected was at 2.18, 2.2 billion. But by the end of the financial year ending on 30th of June, 2026, the revenue for the county stood at kshs 3.35 billion," she said. "Is that revenue that can be collected by someone who is incompetent? Where does gross misconduct come there?"

She asserted that the county has no ghost workers, citing internal audits and the use of the GHRiS (Government Human Resource information System) to verify all salary payments.  

She clarified that the County Public Service Board is the employer, not the CECM Finance, and that her role is strictly to verify audited payments.

She addressed the allegation that she failed to pay salaries for April, May, and June. She detailed the payment process, explaining that funds must flow from a "Notification to Reserve Funds" (Form A) to a "Form B" via the Controller of Budget, before reaching her office as a "Form C" (payment instruction).

She revealed that the Form C for the Assembly's salaries only reached her office on July 6, 2026, at 2:50 PM, hours after she had already been dismissed by the Governor.

"How did one Catherine Mutanu contribute to not paying them?" she asked. "We got the exchequer on the 23rd of June and the 25th of June. What was I supposed to pay them with?"

Mutanu also alleged criminal tampering with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) ledger by the County Assembly Clerk. She claimed the ledger was edited without her knowledge or consent, altering vote lines and preventing the release of allowances tied to salaries.

"That is criminal. Let it be noted that is criminal," she warned. "The Clerk should be able to explain... how he managed to have this done... I would want the assembly now to impeach you [the Clerk], not one Catherine Mutanu."

Mutanu strongly rebutted personal attacks regarding her academic qualifications, she wondered how her accuser abused parliamentary privilege to recreate political overtones which do not even have basis in academia. 

"Quantitative method is not a common unit in the university. The common unit is called Communication Skills," she said.

Catherine Mutanu holds a degree from the University of Nairobi and a Master's in Public Policy and Administration from Kenyatta University, and is currently pursuing a PhD.

She criticized the Speaker of the County Assembly for appointing a five-man select committee to handle her impeachment, calling it unconstitutional and insensitive given the gender imbalance provisions in the constitution.

"You are so insensitive that you want those men to push me down my throat and kill me," she told the Speaker. "That committee was null and void ab initio."

She said that she signed the Form

C for the Assembly's salaries on the morning of her return, ensuring the legislators were paid.

"The same hand that they bite is the same hand that signed their salary," she remarked.

The impeachment exercise sponsored by 21 MCAs was overtaken by event the moment governor wavinya Ndeti fired the CECM on Monday of July 6 leaving the committee with no subject to impeach whatsoever hence rendering the exercise objectivity attained. However she was reinstated by the high court sitting in machakos on Monday of July 13.

Follow Felix Kilonzo #iamfelixkilonzo #BeyondHeadlines #lazimaiwork