Former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has launched a scathing attack on her successor, Governor Rev. Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia, for orchestrating the political campaign that led to her impeachment and branding him the “first Judas Iscariot” who betrayed her trust.
Mwangaza said Mutuma began working against her just three months after taking office as deputy governor and then worked with what she termed political cartels to remove her from power.
“We had not even served for three months before the person I had picked as my deputy started an inside job to remove me with political cartels driven by male chauvinism. He was the first Judas Iscariot. What wrong did I do by picking him from Igembe when he was only known as a prison warden carrying a 9kg gun?” she said.
Mwangaza said she personally picked Mutuma as her running mate four months before the 2022 General Election, despite the fact that he had very little money and political backing during the campaign.
“I looked for him because I wanted someone to deputise me. He contributed nothing to our campaign, but he later became greedy. Does a child kill a parent to inherit? I traveled Meru helping the needy before politics. What has he done for the people?” she asked.
The former governor said those who blamed her administration for Meru’s problems had failed to deliver tangible improvements since she left office.
“They united all their efforts to remove one woman, claiming I was the problem in Meru. But the problems are still there. Markets are dirty, there are no bursaries, no boreholes are being drilled and residents are not seeing development despite claims that there is peace,” she said.
Mwangaza also claimed that Governor Mutuma’s administration had already dismissed three County Executive Committee members in its first year, and that the changes were evidence of instability in county leadership.
At that time, the Meru Senate aspirant Mugambi Imanyara, also speaking at the gathering, accused the county government of poor financial management and failing to understand the role of residents in the county government in the decision-making process and not involving them in the local community in decision making through public involvement.
He opposed any proposed hike in county taxes because people were already suffering from a very tough economic situation.
“This is not the time to burden residents with more taxes. We will mobilise wananchi to oppose any increase because people are already struggling economically,” said Imanyara.
Imanyara also criticised reported plans to relocate miraa traders from Maua town, saying the crop is still the economic lifeline of Nyambene region and should be supported rather than disrupted.
The comments come as political activity in Meru is intensifying ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the two competing camps increasingly sparring over governance, development and the political future of the county.
The governor Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia was not immediately available to comment on the allegations.
