UPDATE: The trial of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at the Senate has been suspended after the DP reportedly fell sick and got hospitalized.
The Senate is set to vote on whether to remove DP Gachagua from office by impeachment after the trial against him enters its second and final day.
Speaker Amason Kingi made the ruling on Thursday afternoon and directed that the sitting will resume at 5 pm.
“We will suspend this sitting and resume at exactly 5 pm. We expect the Deputy President then to take the witness stand at 5 pm. This is a time-bound process, unfortunately,” said Kingi.
This came after DP Gachagua’s lead Counsel Paul Muite requested adjournment of the sitting until 5 pm.
He made the request having informed the plenary that the deputy president had reportedly fallen ill while attending the proceedings and that he had been rushed to the hospital.
“May I start by expressing apologies and regrets that the Deputy President is not here. The sad reality is that the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya has been taken sick, very sick and as I address this honorable house, he is in hospital,” said Muite.
Kenya’s upper house of parliament will give its verdict at the end of the second day of an impeachment trial against the embattled DP Gachagua.
Hello and welcome to The Kenya Times live updates of the Senate impeachment trial of DP Rigathi Gachagua
Lawyer James Orengo’s submission after DP Gachagua is hospitalized
“I’ve heard what SC Paul Muite has said, and Mr. Speaker, you have made it quite clear that these proceedings are time-bound. It is not so much about the situation in which the Deputy President finds himself, it is about the Senate complying with the provisions of the Constitution. That within that timeframe you must make a decision.”
He added, “It would be useful to this house if SC Paul Muite could properly give us away forward in terms of the time limitations that the Senate has. I’m saying this because we don’t want somebody to say that the Deputy President was not given an opportunity to be heard. I think the Senate would want him to be heard but knowing the time limitations, what suggestions does the SC have to ensure that we keep within the time parameters and at the same time the DP is given time to defend himself. “
Gachagua hospitalized
Having gone missing, it emerges that DP Gachagua has reportedly fallen ill and rushed to hospital just minutes after he was set to take the stand.
His lead counsel Paul Muite told the Senate that his client had been taken ill following a lunch break at the impeachment trial.
DP Gachagua goes missing after lunchbreak
Senate was left in a state of confusion after embattled DP Gachagua went missing during the plenary session after the senators resumed having taken a lunchbreak.
The DP’s legal team was forced to cut short its defense and went ahead to raise concerns to the Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, requesting more time for them to locate the deputy president who was nowhere to be found.
Drama ensued after Speaker Kingi called on the deputy president’s legal team to present their witness, the DP, who was set to testify before the plenary on Thursday afternoon.
“Honorable Speaker, we are waiting for the deputy president, and my colleagues can stand in for me, let me make enquiries where he is,” Senior Counsel Paul Muite pleaded with Speaker Kingi.
Following the announcement, the Senate was forced to momentarily halt its proceedings with Gachagua’s legal team granted time to find the deputy president before the plenary session commenced.
The Senators who were seated keenly listening to the proceedings called on the speaker to adjourn the proceedings. Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale while addressing the plenary, called on Speaker Kingi to suspend the proceedings until the deputy president was availed
12:20: Speaker Kingi threatens to eject Kajiado Senator
Speaker Kingi threatens to eject Kajiado Senator Seku Lenku and demands for his apology.
11:10am: Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru cross-examines National Assembly’s third witness
Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru cross-examines the National Assembly’s third witness, EACC Deputy CEO Abdi Mohamud, after he testified against DP Gachagua.
10:50am: Third Witness appears before Senate
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Deputy CEO Abdi Mohamud appears to testify as a witness in the case on behalf of the CEO who was summoned to appear as a witness.
9:40 – 10:40am: Former KEMSA CEO, DP Gachagua Counsel and National Assembly answer questions from senators
Former KEMSA CEO Dr. Andrew Mulwa: “For the record, I had never received a call from anyone above my Cabinet Secretary. This was the first time I received a call from a sitting Deputy President and requesting for documents that were under investigations.
In my 15 years of public service I had never been asked to do that and, therefore, I felt coerced and leave the business that I had for the day, go to EACC, follow up the bid-bond so that I am able to retrieve it.”
MP Mutuse: “Is it not suspicious that the DP’s sons are the directors in his late brother’s property & not the late’s children? I invite you to see the web of secrecy and conspiracy. sometimes it is hard to get evidence but in totality, it points to money laundering & corruption.”
9:40am: Senate Speaker Amason Kingi allows Senators to field questions
Speaker Kingi allows senators to field questions to the two legal camps and various witnesses presented.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah questions Mwengi Mutuse on whether he understands the difference between an impeachment motion and a censure motion.
“If he does where does he place his motion, is it a censure motion or is it an impeachment and what are the thresholds for each of those two motions,” Omtatah asked.
Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot questions the mover of the impeachment motion, Mwengi Mutuse whether it is a crime for the deputy president to own many companies and whether it is a crime for the deputy president’s sons to be listed as directors of Vipingo Beach Resort.
“I see you have listed 22 companies here, is there any crime, by just owning these companies that you feel that the person you accuse has committed. Second, on this issue of Vipingo Beach, what is the crime of the sons of the deputy president being listed as directors because I have tried combing through your motion to establish what you consider to be unlawful or a crime in their part,” Cheruiyot stated.
9:00am – Hearing begins
The impeachment trial has started.
According to the schedule released by Speaker Amason Kingi, the Senate is expected to finish the impeachment trial by senators voting on the charges anytime from 8.05pm.
8:55am: DP Gachagua arrives at Senate
The embattled DP has made his way into the Senate chambers ahead of his defining moment accompanied by his staffers.
The legal team representing the National Assembly will be expected to cross-examine the deputy president at some point.
Earlier
Wednesday night: Ongoya Cross-examines MP Mutuse
On Wednesday evening, a dramatic showdown unfolded in the Senate during the impeachment trial following a day of submissions from various parties.
Advocate Elisha Ongoya challenged Mutuse to substantiate the claims in his motion, alleging that the DP had amassed a Ksh5.2 billion fortune since taking office as the country’s second-in-command.
Ongoya expressed disbelief at the figure, listed as one of the 11 grounds for Gachagua’s impeachment, and pressed Mutuse for clarifications.
He demanded that the MP, who is also a lawyer, explain how he and his team arrived at the Ksh5.2 billion valuation.
Mutuse was hard pressed and, despite multiple attempts to evade the question, eventually admitted that the figure was derived by estimating current land values and adding the worth of properties linked to Gachagua.
At one point, Gachagua’s legal team labeled Mutuse a “hostile witness” and questioned whether he was a property valuer or merely a lawyer.
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