- The DP on Thursday mentioned that the people from Mt Kenya are forgiving and return love with love, kindness with kindness but they don’t forget.
- “I appeal to everybody to treat the people of the Mountain with kindness because it is the right thing to do," he said.
Image: WILLIAM KABOGO/TWITTER
Former Kiambu governor William Kabogo has weighed in on the weighty debate on the alleged plot to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, with reports indicating the motion could be tabled Tuesday, next week.
This as it emerged that at least 250 MPs had by Thursday appended signatures in support of the tabling of the motion far beyond the requisite 116 members needed to impeach the deputy president.
In a rare show of unity, more than 120 MPs from President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza and slightly more than 100 opposition MPs had signed petitions by late Thursday.
In a statement on X on Friday, Kabogo said the impeachment is a personal challenge to the DP and he should not rope in the entire community.
“On the impeachment of DP Gachagua, most of us are focused on honesty and not just the outcome of this situation. Their alleged personal battles should not involve an entire community as a "shield",” Kabogo said.
“Whatever transpires between the DP and President, Kenyans still want and demand development and progressive politics,” he added.
His remarks appeared to refer to a statement Gachagua made on Thursday during an interdenominational funeral service for pupils who died in a fatal fire tragedy at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Kieni, Nyeri county.
The DP, in his speech during the event, mentioned that the people from Mt Kenya are forgiving and return love with love, kindness with kindness, but they don’t forget.
“People from the mountain are very good people; they are very trusting, they are very kind, and they are very loving,” he said, then somewhat sent a subtle warning that they can be unpleasant if rattled.
“I appeal to everybody to treat the people of the mountain with kindness because it is the right thing to do.”
Ruto allies have linked the ouster bid against Gachagua to the chaotic youth-led anti-government protests in June, with Interior CS Kithure Kindiki saying the government treats those events that led to deaths as an attempt to overthrow the government.
The DCI has trained its eyes on the DP’s allies as the financiers of the protests: Embakasi North MP James Gakuya and his Embakasi Central counterpart, Benjamin Gathiru Mejja Donk.
In a statement on Thursday, Gachagua termed the targeting of the two as an outdated political strategy of using the criminal justice system to manage politics.
He said the legislators and three members of his staff have been targeted in trumped-up charges to lay groundwork for his impeachment.
“This evil scheme is to associate them with violent demonstrations that took place in late June, in a futile attempt to soil my name and hopefully create grounds for the mooted impeachment proceedings against me,” he said.
The DP’s staff on Friday, obtained a court order stopping their arrest and subsequent prosecution over the alleged financing of the Gen Z protests.