MPs Approve Motion to Impeach DP Rigathi Gachagua

Rigathi Gachagua and legal team
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his legal team on their way to the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 8. PHOTO/ National Assembly.
KNA

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is on the verge of impeachment after more than two-thirds of the Members of the National Assembly voted to oust him on Tuesday, October 8.

Gachagua's worst fears were confirmed after 281 members voted to impeach the deputy president (a figure that was way above the required 233 threshold) while only 44 saved the DP. One MP voted to abstain.

"Abstentions: One, the No's - 44; the Ayes - 281, so the Ayes have it. The clerk is directed to prepare the necessary documentation to enable this," National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula said on Tuesday evening directing the clerk to forward the decision to the Senate Speaker.

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..

Rigathi Gachagua National Assembly
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua before the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. PHOTO/ National Assembly.
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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 on Tuesday, 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 early signs that the odds were not in Gachagua's favour 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.

The besieged DP 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.

Unlike on Monday when he solely read his defence during a televised press briefing, the DP supplemented his defence 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 in relation to criminal offences 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 labelled 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.

A collage of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Parliament Buildings.
A collage of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Parliament Buildings.
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Parliament, Gachagua
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