Embattled Kiambu governor Kimani Wamatangi is a cornered man, more so over his failure to end the ongoing stalemate between his administration and striking doctors. Though he has persistently accused his political rivals of orchestrating the stalemate to destabilise his administration, Wamatangi is being accused by officials of the doctors unions of grandstanding and chest thumping at the expense of helpless patients.
The county boss is facing impeachment threats for the second time but it remains to be seen whether members of the area County Assembly can garner the requisite numbers to impeachment him. There are 60 elected members of County Assembly in Kiambu and 27 nominated ones bringing the total to 87. It means that for the governor to be sent packing, two thirds of them which is 58 members must cast their vote.
Currently, Wamatangi enjoys the support of Majority of the civic leaders including the Leader Majority Godfrey Mucheke and the speaker. Following the ongoing health crisis reinforced by prolonged doctors’ strike in Kiambu, a section of county assembly members have threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Wamatangi.
This is not the first time such threats have been issued, but is the most recent with MCAs citing his alleged insensitivity and mismanagement of an ongoing health workers’ strike that has crippled healthcare services in the entire county. The doctors’ strike, led by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), championed by its secretary general Dr. Davji Atellah has continued for months without solutions.
Only about 15 out of 87 MCAs have gone public showing interest to send Wamatangi home claiming that he has failed to resolve the doctors dispute and has instead engaged in a public war of words with them. Pundits asserts that the dissenting leader’s efforts are futile and that it might be a matter of time before they jump ship.
“If history of our MCAs is anything to go by, there can hardly be any factual attempt to impeachment Wamatangi. He knows how to ‘deal with dissenting voices’, said Kiambu political commentator Stephen Waweru alias doctor warts. On Tuesday, October 14, 2025 Muguga ward MCA Kamau Thumbi and nominated MCA Susan Njeri were among those who spoke out publicly against the governor and announced the new impeachment plan.
On the same day the MCAs announced their plan, KMPDU petitioned the National Assembly to initiate an inquiry into the strike and the county’s handling of the matter. Towards the end of 2023 Wamatangi faced threats of impeachment. Based on accusations of him acting as a “lone ranger” by failing to appoint key county officials mostly Chief Officers.
Following the threats, the then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua successfully intervened and mediated a truce between the governor and the MCAs. Consequently, the impeachment motion didn’t proceed to a vote in the county assembly. The latest threat remains active and is driven by the serious and long-standing health crisis in the county.
The longevity of the ongoing doctors’ strike suggests the underlying issues have not been resolved, giving the current impeachment motion more momentum than previous attempts.
