It is business as usual that President William Ruto has resumed the continued trade of overseas junkets, which had been temporarily halted by the Gen Z uprising against high taxes, cost-of-living burdens and government profligacy. is a strong indicator that the company is back in business.
Even if the president’s extended overseas tour takes some of his attention away from his domestic headaches, when he returns home from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he finds that the problems that may have been causing him sleepless nights remain unresolved.
It is clear that top of Ruto’s agenda is to continue pushing for the removal of defector Vice President Ligasi Gachagua through an impeachment motion expected to be tabled in Parliament. Although the President himself has not commented on the impeachment push, it goes without saying that his military, led by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa and Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, will begin direct action against the Democratic Progressive Party without explicit instructions from the President. I don’t think that will happen. Approved.
While it is clear that the president’s allies have the numbers to begin impeachment in Congress and succeed in the Senate, there is still great uncertainty about the possible political fallout. Although impeachment spells an end to the political career of the relatively young Mr. Gachagua (who served one term as a Matira lawmaker before ascending to the Democratic Party House), he is not one to go down without a fight.
It’s going to be a nasty, dirty fight that will smear not only him but his detractors as well. A possible counterstrategy for Gachagua would be to mount a defense by claiming that he is being victimized for opposing the Ruto government’s massive corruption. The revelation of hundreds of billions of shillings worth of questionable deals related to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport development and the controversial concession deal with Indian mogul Gautam Adani. Ruto is already in the spotlight for the rise of crony capitalism that has taken root at the heart of the state legislature with the expansion of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company network and the rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund/Social Health Department system.
unbridled corruption
If pushed, Gachagua’s allies could file their own impeachment charges against Ruto for unchecked corruption, extrajudicial executions, abductions, torture, enforced disappearances, and other police actions during the crackdown. There are whispers that the promotion will begin. Gen Z protests.
The impeachment push against Ruto will be difficult because Gachagua clearly doesn’t have the numbers. Abandoned by much of the Mt Kenya bloc in Congress and having failed to develop loyalty outside of its ethnic base, allies in the Democratic Progressive Party are likely to muster even a dozen of the 117 supporters needed to accept the motion. It’s probably less sexual. Both National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetanwura and Senate President Amason Kingi are acting as agents of the executive branch rather than as heads of co-equal branches of government, and therefore their disapproval of any move against Ruto is even problematic. Probably not.
However, this bet is premised on the hope that Ruto will not dare to sanction an impeachment move against the Democratic Party, which would amount to a pyrrhic victory, although it is likely to pass easily. His own name has been dragged into the quagmire, with negative publicity surrounding his opaque dealings continuing to spread, threatening to point the finger squarely in his direction.
This is a high-stakes game, with neither side appearing to be awarded a quarter. Mr. Ichunwa last week denied any knowledge of any such move, despite a series of accusations against Mr. Gachagua in various interviews that could be grounds for impeachment. Deputy Leader Owen Baya and Kimirili MP Didmus Barasa claim that more than 240 signatures have been collected from MPs supporting the impeachment motion, even though many of the names and signatures displayed are in the same handwriting. . Ruto’s confidants, including Deputy Speaker Gladys Vos Sholey and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, have been actively declaring impeachment inevitable over the past week at rallies and on social media.
Although no specific details or evidence were provided, the allegations include violating the constitution and laws, misappropriating public funds, insubordination, causing division, and promoting tribalism. But the decisive move was clearly intended to intimidate Gachagua by displaying the coercive power of the state apparatus, thereby forcing him to resign before the matter could be considered by Congress. There is a possibility.
conspiracy to commit a felony
This comes on September 24, when the Director of Criminal Investigation, Mohammed Amin, sends a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, indicting five key Gachagua allies and aides for allegedly planning and financing the Gen Z protests. This was made clear by the recommendation. Just two days later, Ingonga arrested two Nairobi MPs, Benjamin Gasile Mwangi alias Meja Donku (Embakasi Central) and James Mwangi Gakuya (Embakasi North), as well as former MP and current political aide George. I wrote a letter of reply authorizing the prosecution of Teuri and Ngunjiri Wambugu. Personal assistant Pius Munene was charged with felony conspiracy.
This was an interesting request from the DCI, as no concrete evidence was disclosed in the letter apart from an “intelligence report” regarding the meeting held at the Boulevard Hotel in Nairobi, as well as a similar request from the Democratic Progressive Party. It was also an interesting agreement. It will be interesting to see how this issue develops if it goes to court. This is because the intelligence report will not be accepted as evidence unless the National Intelligence Service official who prepared the report is placed on the witness stand, leads an interrogation, or becomes the subject of an investigation. Cross-examination.
Mr Gachagua immediately fired back, pointing the finger of blame at Ruto. “When President William Ruto and I took office, we made a promise to Kenyans that we would never again rely on the criminal justice system to help us manage our politics.” I’m embarrassed that it’s back to normal. “Harassment of staff in my office and members of Congress who are believed to be close to me has been going on for the past two months,” he charged.
His statement comes in June at the height of anti-government protests, accusing DCI Director Amin and NIS Director Nordin Haji of abusing powerful security forces in an attempt to impose a Gen Z rebellion on him. It was a repetition. The two also used the mainstream media’s malleable journalists to try to put their identities in print despite the lack of clear evidence, including former President Uhuru Kenyatta, his brother Muhoho, and political aides. We are following leads linking official Alfred Getonga to the Gen Z protests. .
Mr. Gachagua’s reaction to the possible indictment of his allies and aides was a clear indication that it was due to political disagreements with Mr. Ruto, rather than any specific crime. It may not be a coincidence that on the same day that Mr Ingonga agreed to the charges, Minister of Interior Kindiki Kisule told Parliament that the Gen Z protests were an uprising aimed at overthrowing President Ruto’s government. .
coup attempt
Kindiki told a parliamentary committee investigating reported abductions and extrajudicial killings by police that force was needed to quell the alleged coup plot, without giving details. It added that prosecution of “high-profile” individuals said to be responsible for the chaos and destruction was imminent.
At this point, it appears that “high profile” does not include people like Gachagua or Uhuru, but previous leaks from law enforcement officials indicate that arrests at that level are actually debatable. It is reported that it happened. By describing the Gen Z protests as an attempted coup rather than a genuine youth reaction to unpopular policies, Kindiki reflects Ruto’s new narrative of regaining political initiative. Ta.
Incidentally, Mr. Kindiki was appointed as a new central figure by the ruling Kenya Kwanzaa Alliance’s Mt. It will be. From the early days of the protests, Ruto acknowledged the grievances of young people and moved to calm the storm by withdrawing a controversial finance bill and dissolving his cabinet.
He then achieved a major political success by incorporating allies of opposition leader Raila Odinga into the reconstituted cabinet. The move’s disempowerment of Gen Z gave Ruto the leeway to reverse many of the concessions he had made. He also stepped up efforts to portray the Gen Z protests as an insurrection sponsored by political opponents, shifting the blame initially aimed at both the United States and Russia to local detractors, where he became firmly entrenched in Gachagua. .
The downside was that the more Gachagua fought under pressure, the more he emerged victorious in his initially elusive quest to take over the Mt Kenya leadership position vacated by Uhuru. The region voted solidly for Mr Ruto in 2022, but now even his key Mt Kenya points men, such as former trade CS Moses Kuria, have confirmed that Mr Gachagua is seriously on the run. I admit it.
Gachagua knows he will not be Ruto’s running mate in 2027 and is already planning his own presidential campaign, but he has signed a deal to throw himself behind Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka. There is a possibility.
Both moves could deny Ruto the single biggest voting bloc behind his 2022 victory, but could be countered by a new arrangement that brings Raila’s troops to the Kwanzaa Kenya basket. Number crunchers have shown that there is.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ruto continues to promote a narrative aimed at delegitimizing the Gen Z protests, with media interviews at overseas junkets in which young people have been accused of disinformation, rather than concrete evidence. He said it was instigated by fake news.
