Vihiga governor Wilberforce Otichillo can breathe a sigh of relief after his impeachment motion was withdrawn by Ward Representatives.The Members of the County Assembly withdrew the  impeachment plan against Ottichilo, opting for mediation after talks with elders, religious leaders.

23 0ut of 38 MCAs had in February appended their signatures to the document setting the stage for his impeachment. The MCAs accused the governor of irregular procurement, abuse of office, gross misconduct and failure to implement the approved budget.

In the motion, the MCAs noted that the assembly approved Sh450 million through a supplementary budget to pay pending bills but this had not been done three months later.

The ward representatives also accused the governor of imprudent use of public funds, irregular hiring, massive sacking of staff and gross violation of the Constitution.

Other grounds include failure to hold county executive committee meetings, disobedience of court orders, a growing wage bill despite the mass sackings and the irregular inclusion of 753 workers in the county’s payroll.

They further accuse Dr Ottichilo of irregular procurement of a two-hectare piece of land in Indeli Village for Sh23.9 million, a figure they claim was inflated.he land is being used to construct the governor’s official residence.

However Dr Ottichilo absolved his administration from blame and instead faulted the National Treasury and the Controller of Budget.

The Governor  filled an application at  Kakamega High Court seeking to stop his impending impeachment by the MCAs. He had listed County Speaker Hasna Mudeizi, the county assembly and Assembly Clerk Ambaka Kilinga as the first, second and third respondents respectively.

Dr Ottichilo had further asked the court to issue conservatory orders barring the respondents from commencing impeachment proceedings until his rights are upheld.