A motion of impeachment against Vice President Ligaty Gachagua could be presented to Congress at any time, and reports say the motion is ready and has the necessary support from lawmakers.
Sources said signatures were coming in “at a furious pace” with more than 116 lawmakers having signed the petition. Some on social media have threatened that the plan could be implemented within two weeks, but sources told the Standard that allies of President William Ruto want to table the motion before the president returns from his visit to the United States.
Given that the president is due to return on Saturday and lawmakers will not meet on Friday, the impeachment motion could be tabled by today if the promised timeline is adhered to.
The source said the motion could be tabled today because it has been approved by more than a third of lawmakers across party lines. Others, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the issue was too sensitive to rush and they did not want to give Gachagua a loophole, so it would likely be tabled next week.
Mt Kenya MPs yesterday alleged that National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohammed had received instructions from ODM leader Raila Odinga to rally ODM MPs to support the impeachment motion once it is tabled. The instructions were conveyed by phone from New York, where Raila was accompanying President Ruto.
Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa said the impeachment motion was ready and would be presented “at any moment”. “It’s like the coming of Jesus Christ. It will come when you least expect it. Ligaty Gachagua will go home, but she won’t walk, she’ll run. With every step, Gachagua will look back,” Barasa said.
Nyeri town councillor Duncan Matenge said he was not aware of the motion which others had supported. “At the moment there is no motion,” he said.
The Standard could not immediately reveal the grounds for impeaching the DP and details of the crimes he is alleged to have committed. Article 150 of the Constitution provides for serious breach of the Constitution, suspected commission of an offence and serious misconduct as grounds for impeaching the DP.
Tana River Senator Danson Mngatana on Monday filed a motion of censure in the Senate questioning Gachagua’s relentless defense of Mount Kenya rights, which he has maintained belong to his tribe.
Indeed, many have accused the DP of being tribalist, a charge he has consistently denied. Gachagua recently said other allegations against him could include dereliction of duty, a charge that could be the subject of an impeachment motion.
Similarly, if the motion passes the National Assembly, it will be debated in the Senate, although he could not say who would table it. Sources say the motion is likely to be tabled by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa, who has been Gachagua’s most vocal critic in recent weeks, although some have claimed it will be tabled by the minority side. Junet, however, denied claims that the opposition will table the motion. Reached for comment, the Kikuyu MP previously said there is no impeachment motion against the DP, alleging that Gachagua is trying to gain sympathy by claiming there is one.
Lobbying by allies of Ruto and Gachagua is reaching a fever pitch as both sides seek victory in a vote that promises an outpouring of passions. Supporters of Gachagua are reportedly lobbying their colleagues in parliament to oppose the motion while the president’s allies are calling for signatures.
The DP, which is also facing a motion of censure in the Senate, has allegedly tasked its nominated member from Mount Kenya and its MP from Nyanza with lobbying their colleagues to support Mr Gachagua.
Several lawmakers from Ruto’s home province of Rift Valley met on Tuesday night in a Nairobi hotel, where they regularly meet, but there were conflicting reports about the contents of the meeting. Gachagua’s removal was described as “done,” but some said the matter was not on the agenda for the meeting, chaired by Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot.
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The Democrats also reportedly met with more than 10 members of parliament and five senators, as well as lawyers, at the Prime Minister’s Office to plan a countermeasure to their ouster plan.
Mr Gachagua is counting on the support of his allies in Mount Kenya and others who may be sympathetic to him. He recently met with about 50 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, who have pledged to protect him from impeachment.
Gachagua appears to be treading into dangerous territory and could well be impeached if MPs allied with Ruto and Raila Odinga’s ODM join forces to oust him.
Those who signed the motion include lawmakers from Raila’s party and Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance, the two largest parties in Parliament.
The UDA is in the lead with 138 members, followed by the ODM with 82. Not all ODM members support the motion as some also support the DP.
Gachagua appears to be supported by Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party, which has vowed to fight the DPJ’s removal from office. Wiper has 25 members in parliament. Makueni senator Dan Maanzo has been vocal in his opposition to the planned impeachment and has said Wiper MPs will oppose it.
“Whether Congress impeaches the president or the vice president, the courts have a role to play,” Maanzo said.
Both factions of the 29-member Jubilee Party appear to be close to Mr. Gachagua, and the Democrats would need 117 MPs to survive impeachment, which would surely be a tough challenge.
“They wanted to impeach me but they didn’t have enough people to impeach me. But now I’m hearing that if Raila and his aides join the government, they will have enough people to unite and get rid of me,” Gachagua lamented in a recent explosive interview.
Maanzo said the no-confidence motion in the Senate could be an indication of how the vote in the upper house will play out. This is not the first time the country has seen a threat to remove a deputy president. Ruto faced similar threats when he ran against former President Uhuru Kenyatta as a member of the Democratic Party.
Uhuru’s allies believed that their handshake with Raila gave them enough votes to oust Ruto, but they never went ahead with the plan. In fact, when Uhuru and Raila rammed their “Bridge Initiative” through Parliament, they mustered more than the two-thirds majority needed for an impeachment motion.
(Additional reporting by Geff Kirui and Ndung’u Gachane)
