MPs Greenlight DP Gachagua Impeachment
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been impeached after more than two-thirds of the National Assembly voted to oust him on Tuesday, October 8.
Gacahagua’s worst fears were confirmed after 281 members voted to impeach the deputy president while only 44 saved the DP. One MP voted to abstain.
How it happened: Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse formally tabled the impeachment motion in Parliament last week detailing 11 charges against the Deputy President. The charges ranged from gross misconduct, violation of the Constitution, and undermining the office of the President among others.
After a public participation exercise was conducted, a report was formally tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 8, which revealed that 116,269 respondents supported Gachagua’s impeachment, while only 69,195 voted against it.
While moving the motion, the Kibwezi MP broke down the damaging allegations against the DP on all 11 clauses. His closing remarks entailed imploring MPs to vote to impeach the Deputy President.
There were clear signs that the odds were not in Gachagua’s favor at the National Assembly, as a considerable number of Members of Parliament stepped up to back Mutuse’s motion.
The DP, however, had some supporters who opposed the motion, with Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina and Githunguri lawmaker Gathoni Wamuchomba among his fierce defenders before the National Assembly.
Gachagua also appeared before the National Assembly at around 5:17 pm to defend himself against the charges reiterating that the properties listed in the impeachment motion such as Olive Gardens Hotel and the Vipingo Beach Resort belonged to his late brother, the former Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua.
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Unlike on Monday when he solely read his defense during a televised press briefing, the DP supplemented his case by providing video evidence from past clips to give context to some of his past sentiments.
“Like any other Kenyan, the constitution gives me the presumption of innocence about criminal offenses until proven otherwise in a court of law in a specific standard of evidence,” the DP said before the National Assembly.
On Monday, Gachagua’s presser mainly revolved around defending himself against allegations that he amassed KSh 5.2 billion within two years, saying a majority of what he was accused of fraudulently acquiring belonged to his late brother.
“My brother appointed me the executor of his will,” he said. “Today, as I defend myself, I apologize to my late brother for having to share his private will. The properties he worked so tirelessly for, meant to benefit his family, are now being labeled as proceeds of corruption.”
What next for Gachagua? Now that the impeachment motion has passed, the verdict is set to move to the Senate, which will conduct a trial on the charges tabled against the DP.
If the Senate backs the motion too, Gachagua would become the first deputy president to be impeached since the new constitution was adopted in 2010.
MPs Greenlight DP Gachagua Impeachment
