- It has been more than a year since former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua was removed from office through impeachment
- The motion to impeach Gachagua was tabled in the National Assembly on October 1, 2024, by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse
- Looking back a year later, Mutuse says he is proud to have initiated Gachagua’s ouster, suggesting that the latter was never fit to hold public office due to his mannerisms
Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse says he takes pride in sponsoring the impeachment motion against Rigathi Gachagua last year.
Source: Twitter
The lawmaker moved the motion to have Gachagua removed from the Office of the Deputy President by way of impeachment.
Why Mwengi Mutuse moved to impeach Gachagua
On October 1, 2024, Mutuse tabled a notice of motion, levelling multiple accusations against Gachagua, vowing to provide evidence for each claim as he sought support from his fellow parliamentarians.
The impeachment motion cited alleged serious breaches of the Constitution, provocative public statements, failure in his role as President William Ruto’s deputy, questionable acquisition of assets worth over KSh 5.7 billion, and violations of both domestic and international laws, including the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
A total of 291 MPs endorsed the move to oust Gachagua from office.
The vote was taken, and the National Assembly voted to send Gachagua home. The matter was then taken up by the Senate.
Does Mutuse regret impeaching Gachagua?
Speaking a year later, Mutuse says he doesn’t regret moving the motion against Gachagua.
He likened his motion to the efforts of Kenyan liberators during the struggle for independence, and those who continued the fight against the KANU dictatorship and one-party rule.
“I am very proud of what we did. It was an assignment for this country. It is similar to what our founding fathers did to give us independence in 1963, to emancipate our country from colonial powers. It is similar to what Raila and others who led the second liberation did to free our country from dictatorship and one-party rule,” he said in an interview with NTV.
Mutuse noted that even after his ouster, Gachagua has continued to partake in divisive politics, which partly formed the grounds for his impeachment.
The MP argued that the former deputy president has yet to learn from his mistakes, suggesting that if given a chance, he would impeach him again and again.
The lawmaker, the only one elected into the 13th parliament with a Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket, argued that Gachagua doesn’t possess any attribute desired of a leader, implying that his stay in office as the second in command was an affront to Kenyans.
Mutuse claimed that many Kenyans now see reason in his anti-Gachagua mission a year later.
That the former deputy president has built his politicking style around ethnicity and tribal identities.
“I think I am vindicated. This Gachagua, even after leaving office, has continued to spew hatred and ethnic marginalisation. Ethnicity has become the cornerstone of his political mobilisation,” he said.
Which strategy did Mwengi Mutuse use to defend his motion?
In other news, the MP recounted the heated moment he had at the hands of Gachgaua’s defence during the impeachment proceedings.
The most remembered bit was when he was cross-examined by lawyer Elisha Ongoya.
During the exchange with Ongoya, Mutuse seemed to be dodging the interrogation, prompting the lawyer to ask him, “Are you with us?”.
He quickly answered, “I’m with us”, which is incorrect grammatically.
Reflecting on the moment a year later, Mutuse said he was aware of what he had said, revealing that it was a strategy he had employed to beat Gachagua’s defence team.
Mutuse clarified that his choice of words was guided by a legal training technique known as “English by Construction”, which emphasises conveying meaning over strict grammatical rules.
He noted that this approach ultimately served its purpose, playing a role in the successful impeachment of Gachagua, given that the Senate upheld the impeachment and rubberstamped Gachagua’s unceremonious exit from office.
Did Rigathi Gachagua bungle his political future?
Political analyst Karen Mwangi looks back and argues that Gachagua ought to have taken care of his political prospects.
According to her, it was apparent that with Ruto’s numbers in both houses of parliament, Gachagua stood no chance of succeeding past the impeachment.
Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Karen said the former deputy president had the lifeline in resigning long before the impeachment was brought in the National Assembly.
According to her, impeached persons in Kenya are not allowed to occupy elective or appointive posts, and that Gachagua’s reliance on the courts may disappoint him.
Gachagua, who has declared his interest in the presidency, said he had yet to exhaust all the legal avenues to challenge his impeachment, using it to keep his hope alive.
But Karen noted that courts in Kenya have never annulled concluded impeachments, referencing the case of former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko, who was barred from seeking the Mombasa governorship in 2022.
“Historically, courts have upheld valid impeachment decisions, with the Supreme Court’s recent confirmation of Sonko’s ouster serving as a clear example. Gachagua has already been impeached by the Senate, and under Article 75(3) of the Constitution, anyone removed through such a process is disqualified from holding public office. Unless a court overturns the impeachment, the IEBC is legally barred from approving his candidacy,” she told TUKO.co.ke.
The analyst added that had Gachagua resigned prior to the motion of his impeachment, he would have endeared himself to the Kenyan public, not forgetting his benefits as the country’s former second in command.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
