- The government through majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah has since dismissed existence of a scheme to impeach Gachagua.
- However, the DP claimed the plot was sanctioned at a meeting held in Nyahururu on September 12 where 48 Mt Kenya MPs denounced him and endorsed Kindiki.
Image: DPCS
Former ruling party Kanu has weighed in on the ongoing debate about alleged plans to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua by a section of legislators.
The government through majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah has since dismissed existence of such a scheme although Gachagua said the government’s denial is a smokescreen, as he’s well aware a section of MPs have been bought to execute the plot.
The DP claimed the plot was sanctioned at a meeting held in Nyahururu on September 12, where 48 Mt Kenya MPs denounced him and threw their weight behind Interior CS Kithure Kindiki as their link to President William Ruto.
“The issue that was discussed during the meeting held in Nyahururu that lasted the whole night was how to force a deputy president out of office. Most of them were coerced and intimidated into that meeting,” Gachagua said during an interview on Citizen TV on Friday.
According to Kanu, if the alleged plot to impeach Gachagua sees the light of day, the axe should not spare President William Ruto, with whom he ascended to power through a single ticket at the August 2022 polls.
“If Parliament decides to pursue impeachment, it should be of both the President and the Deputy President, having been elected as a package, for the executive’s continued malfeasance,” the party said.
Those behind the impeachment plot have cited alleged gross misconduct on the DP’s side, which they say undermines the dignity of his office.
During the TV interview at his official residence in Karen, Gachagua appeared resigned to his fate, saying he will take the impeachment if comes and if those behind it have issues with him that are constitutional and meet the threshold.
“If members of Parliament are persuaded, intimidated, coerced, to remove me from office, so be it. The matter ends there, it’s that simple,” he said.
“There’s nothing Rigathi Gachagua can do about it. That is their purview,” he added.
In a statement on Wednesday dispatched by Director of Communications, Manasse Nyainda, the Kanu party said whereas they respect the crucial role impeachment plays in parliamentary oversight, the country is currently facing more serious concerns than the ouster of a DP.
They cited the ongoing processes that could potentially lead to the takeover of the JKIA by the Indian conglomerate, Adani Group, and the new university funding model that has attracted negative reception from parents and a section of stakeholders.
This, the party said, is in addition to a broken public healthcare system, which doctors’ union KMPDU on Tuesday blamed for the death of a medical intern in Gatundu through suspected suicide.
“Our nation is currently facing pressing issues that demand urgent legislative attention and vigilance. We cannot be preoccupied with an impeachment as the country stares at significant failures in public policy decisions,” the party said.
The party appeared to be reading from the same script as Gachagua, who said during the interview that he has had discussions with the president severally and asked him to call his house to order.
“How can people be meeting at this time to discuss how to impeach a deputy president when the country needs a lot of work to be done? How insensitive can we be to Kenyans?” he posed.
The DP vowed to soldier on with his pro-people politics and dismissed allegations that he was working with the opponents of sitting MPs to frustrate their reelection bids in 2027.