Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, has his day before the National Assembly in an unprecedented move, to defend himself against the Special Motion on removal from office, by impeachment, tabled by Kibwezi West Member of Parliament (MP) Mwengi Mutuse.
Legislators are expected to debate the motion and later hold a vote before the motion proceeds to the Senate.
A total of 291 legislators, more than the 117 required by the constitution, signed the impeachment motion before it was introduced, but a number of them from the deputy president’s backyard of Mt Kenya region say they no longer support it after hearing contrary views from their constituents.
Hello and welcome to The Kenya Times live updates of the Parliament debate on the proposed removal from office, by impeachment, of DP Rigathi Gachagua
Joseph Emathe, Turkana Central MP:
“We are processing a divorce because this is a man who will not speak for the minority. Kenya wants to kill the devil of tribalism. This is not the man who can unite Kenyans.”
Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala:
“EACC did a disservice to this country. For you to be elected you must go through EACC. The DP was a DO (District Officer) and as a DO he was sacked on July 30, 1997, because of his misconduct. The EACC did not do its work and cleared him to be an MP and later the Deputy President.”
Ugenya MP David Ochieng:
“There’s nothing to say about a person who believes that this country should only belong to one region. We’re not impeaching Mt Kenya. We’re not impeaching the Kikuyu. We are impeaching an individual that has refused to follow the law.”
Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo says the mover of the motion MP Mwengi Mutuse has not provided any evidence on the allegations against the DP’s companies. He terms the accusations as “shallow” and “hot air.”
Wajir North MP Ibrahim Saney:
“No Kenyan voted for Gachagua for any position other than escorting the President to State House. The claim that the DP acquired 7.2 million votes is unfounded, not factual and just mere hallucinations. He is simply an assistant to the President.”
2:30pm: Debate resumes
The afternoon session has resumed, and Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has said the special motion to impeach the DP has no time cap but must be finished before midnight.
He has allowed MPs to each speak for five minutes until 5pm when DP Gachagua is expected to appear before the house and then MPs will take a vote after he is done.
1:15pm: Debate adjourned
Parliament adjourns debate on the impeachment motion and will reconvene at 2:30pm to continue deliberations.
12:30pm: Heavy police presence
Parliament on lockdown as MPs debate motion, heavy police presence reported across Nairobi city center.
11:30am: Shollei accuses Gachagua of treason
Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei accuses DP Rigathi of treason for threatening to revolt if he is removed from office and undermining the Secrecy Act by publicly discussing issues related to the National Security Council.
10:59 am: Motion seconded
Deputy National Assembly Majority Leader Owen Baya seconds the motion.
The Kilifi North MP remarked:
“The DP said (that) this House is useless to the country, a theatre of the absurd, a house that processes trash. A person who says such things is not worthy of being the Deputy President of this country. Demanding Sh16 billion for the votes from Mt Kenya, so that he can bring peace to this country- That is the theatre of the absurd. He must be impeached by the end of today.”
9:30 am: Mwengi Mutuse moves the impeachment motion, reads charges against DP Gachagua
The mover of the motion, MP Mwengi Mutuse moves the special motion and starts reading out the 11 charges tabled against DP Gachagua before the house.
Where the DP is accused of gross violation of Articles 147(1) and 152(1) of the Constitution by undermining the President and the Cabinet, MP Mutuse says, “For political expediency, he moved out and opposed the decision of the cabinet, this is inconsistent with the collective responsibility of the cabinet. The DP ordered the demolition of houses in Mavoko yet yesterday he claimed that he opposed the demolitions in Nairobi to which I ask, are people of Mavoko lesser Kenyans?”
The MP added, “I will urge members of this house to find that the DP admitted that he has been using the shareholding language. He went to Kitui, Kajiado, and told them they didn’t deserve to have even one Cabinet Secretary, went to Bungoma and said to them that the votes they brought were not equal to the positions they had been given. He went to Nandi and told them they were major shareholders in this government.”
On ground 3 of the impeachment motion where DP Gachagua is accused of undermining devolution:
“The DP interfered with the running of Nairobi County Government by inciting citizens against lawful directives of the County Government on the planning and relocation of markets and publicly disparaging the leadership of the County Government and its decisions. The work of regulating markets is an exclusive function of the county government.”
Ground 4 and 5
MP Mwengi Mutuse on ground 4 of the impeachment motion where the DP is accused of gross violation of the institutional and decisional independence of judges:
“The DP said he will file a petition to remove judge Esther Maina because he was found guilty economic crimes. The judiciary is an independent institution with the sole role of interpreting the law. You should not have a personal vendetta with a judge because the judgment did not go your way.”
On ground 5 where the DP is accused of gross violation of the constitution on the fidelity to the oath of office and allegiance, MP Mwengi Mutuse says:
“I have demonstrated that he has not lived to the calling of that office. He has not been upholding the constitution in terms of his conduct. I have enough evidence to prove this allegation.”
MP Mwengi Mutuse on ground 6 where the DP is accused of committing crimes under sections of the National Cohesion and Integration Act:
“The DP has persistently made inflammatory, reckless, inciteful public utterances over the last two years in contravention of the law.
He has been using the shareholding language and has termed the Kenya Kwanza Alliance as a company. This does not promote national cohesion.”
9:00 am: Session begins
The National Assembly resumes sittings on Tuesday morning to consider the Special Motion.
How proceedings will take place
During the Wednesday, October 2, 2024, morning sitting, the house agreed that the mover will have 60 minutes to move the special motion.
The DP will also be accorded two hours to address the house uninterrupted. Thereafter, the mover will have another 30 minutes to reply after which the speaker will open the floor for debate.
The National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his minority counterpart Junet Mohammed, will have 10 minutes each to address the house.
Earlier:
Gachagua in a televised speech on Monday defended himself and confirmed that he would appear before parliament on Tuesday afternoon where he said he would “prosecute my defense for two hours.”
The second in command accused MP Mutuse of lying for drafting the motion, calling it “shameful and sensational.”
This was the first time Gachagua publicly addressed in detail the issues raised by the legislator.
The deputy president defended his wealth acquisition, saying some of the properties listed in the impeachment motion belonged to his late brother.
He defended renovation expenditures for his official residence in Karen saying it was in a state of disrepair and needed to be “dignified.”
Earlier on Sunday during a prayer meeting at his residence, the DP also implored President William Ruto, legislators and Kenyans to forgive him for any wrongdoing during his tenure.
Also Read: Gachagua Impeachment Live Updates: Public Participation Enters Second Day
The second in command however on Monday clarified that his apology wasn’t an admission of guilt and dispelled rumors that he would resign.
President Ruto has yet to publicly comment about the impeachment but is on record in the earlier days of his presidency saying he wouldn’t publicly humiliate his deputy, alluding to the troubled relationship he had with his predecessor, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, during their second term in office.
Public participation and charges
A section of supporters and opponents of Gachagua on Friday clashed at public forums during which public participation forms were filled.
Among the ten grounds for impeachment is that DP Gachagua has inexplicably amassed a humongous property portfolio estimated at Ksh5.2 billion for the past 2 years.
Also, the impeachment grounds include Gross violation of the Constitution or any other law pursuant to article 150 (1) (b) (1) of the constitution and Gross Misconduct (Bullying).
Another impeachment ground includes “serious reasons to believe that DP Rigathi Gachagua has committed crimes under sections 45 (1), 46, 47 (a) (3), and 48 (1) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act and sections 2, 3, 4, and 7 of Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Other impeachment grounds entail “Serious reasons to believe that the DP has committed crimes under sections 13 (1) (a) and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, Undermining the president and the cabinet, interfering with leadership of Nairobi County government, Attack against Lady Justice Esther Maina of the High Court, violating the Oath of office, and misleading the public.
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