NARC-Kenya Party Leader, Martha Karua on Wednesday faulted the National Assembly over what she described as "mob lynching" and Parliament's failure to exercise independence in the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The former Justice Minister claimed that the impeachment confirmed that Kenyans are treading on their own arguing that the process did not meet the threshold to hound the deputy president out of office.
“Although the process is enshrined in the constitution of Kenya under Article 145 and 150, it was disheartening to see the National Assembly behave like a rubber stamp,” she opined blaming the National Assembly for failing to up hold its independence.
“Rigathi Gachagua is no angel but like any citizen, he deserves due process not mob lynching. We must invest in systems that work even for your worst enemy,” she stated.
She disapproved the whole process adding, “It is not about the person in question but about having a system that is fair to all irrespective of their circumstances and political persuasion.”
Karua who is popularly known as Iron Lady, pointed out that Parliament has in the past shown signs of being negatively influenced by the Executive. She gave the example of when MPs passed the 2024 Finance Bill despite its unpopularity with Kenyans.
Karua reminded leaders that participating in the violation of another person’s rights is laying the foundation of the violation for anarchy which is detrimental to a thriving democracy.
At the same time, Karua commended members of the National Assembly who approached the debate with sobriety. In the impeachment motion, 43 MPs voted NO.
Martha Karua reminded Kenyans that Gachagua and some of those who administered mob justice to him were a happy lot during their honeymoon in power, when they continuously berated former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“Gachagua’s circumstances today should be a reminder to each one of them and to all people in authority that power is transient and tomorrow it will be you,” she cautioned.
Impeachment of the DP, Karua said, was a misplaced priority happening at a time the country is faced with more pressing national issues like abductions, a deteriorating economy, health care and confusion in the education’s new university funding model.
“This is also happening at a time we need a watchdog to stop the now infamous and opaque Adani airport concession, and similarly opaque power transmission concession, the criminalization of indigenous agriculture, the violation of citizens' access to health and education through SHIF and a botched education funding model,” she observed.
Karua urged Kenyans to rally together to object to poor governance and act as a watchdog as the National Assembly has proved to be a rubber stamp of the executive.
