Njeri Maina, Kirinyaga Women Representative and High Court advocate, has explained why the impeachment of the current Kenyan president, William Ruto, is difficult.
In clarifying the potential failure of the presidential impeachment motion, the advocate noted that to successfully impeach President Ruto, at least one-third of National Assembly members must support the motion.
Further, for the impeachment to proceed, Njeri argued that a two-thirds majority is required for the motion to proceed to the Senate.
“An impeachment motion would need to gather 1/3rd support of the National Assembly for it to be tabled,” Njeri Maina stated on her X account on June 1 following the call from Kenyans to the parliament on impeaching President Ruto.
Further, the High Court Advocate emphasized the impeachment process was highly unlikely to succeed, as the National Assembly lacked the courage to act on impeachment motions against the President.
Additionally, Njeri noted that if the National Assembly were to face the impeachment motion and table it, it would still be difficult to find at least 50 members of the National Assembly to sign in support of the motion, based on the current representatives of Kenya holding seats.
Njeri Maina on Impeachment Requirements
According to Njeri, at least 116 members of the National Assembly will be required to back the impeachment motion, a number that, the Advocate says, cannot be easily attained.
However, she argued that if 116 members of the National Assembly backed the impeachment motion, then the Speaker of the National Assembly, who has the power to exercise discretion on motions tabled by the National Assembly members, can easily halt the motion.
Following the Speaker’s power to control proposed motions, Njeri emphasized that the members in support of the impeachment have no power. Thus, through the authority of the Speaker, the tabled motion will be disregarded.
If the Speaker allows the impeachment motion tabled in parliament, a total of 223 members of the National Assembly must support the motion for it to proceed to the Senate.
Also Read: How Ruto Made Frantic Phone Call During Gachagua Impeachment
Njeri’s stand on Impeachment
Following her clarification on the impossibility of impeachment, the Advocate, terming the attempt as fruitless, has stated that Kenyans are trying to find a solution to a problem they created.
Njeri has, however, added that, as a defender of the Gen-Zs and supporter of their movement, citing that she raised bail money for the underprivileged youth during the 2024/2025 protests, she has emphasized that she is not calling upon youths to protest on the streets.
As an advocate, Njeri affirmed that in pursuit of the rights and freedoms under Chapter Four of the Constitution of Kenya, she will ensure she defends those who will take to the streets, but has pleaded with the Gen-Zs not to protest.
Further, she has advised Kenyans that, instead of protesting, they should register as voters and change the governance in the upcoming 2027 elections.
“Register as a voter, inform yourself as a citizen, interrogate candidates, form an informed opinion of them, get ready to vote in 2027,” Njeri Maina urged.
Also Read: Gachagua Lists 11 Prayers in the Court Petition Challenging His Impeachment
Public Reactions on Ruto’s Impeachment
While some members of the public support the advocate, others have criticized her, arguing that she would benefit if the impeachment fails.
According to Karomo Richu, a citizen, the advocate has been earning a salary from the same government for four years. Therefore, her reasons for the impeachment’s failure were one-sided.
Others, like Dibe Omwega, an analyst, stated that the impeachment could not succeed because the Constitution of Kenya makes it impossible to attain the 233-vote threshold.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
