Big split in Azimio over Gachagua's looming impeachment

The imminent impeachment motion against DP Rigathi Gachagua has widened division in Azimio La Umoja, weeks after coalition leader Raila Odinga hung his political boots.

The ouster motion has exposed a broken outfit speaking at cross purposes, raising the question of whether it will hold together until 2027 or not.

Azimio MPs have almost to a man signed the petition to send the DP home, but its leadership outside Parliament is warning against the move and vowing to rally members behind the embattled second in command.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and DAP-K boss Eugene Wamalwa declared they would rally the opposition troops to save Gachagua from what they called a political witch-hunt.

Speaking during the funeral service for the 21 Endarasha pupils who perished in a school fire in Nyeri, the two bigwigs said the opposition would not support impeachment that does not include President William Ruto.

“Let me be clear: If they bring a motion to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Parliament, they should also bring one against William Ruto,” Kalonzo said.

Eugene assured Gachagua of his support amid what he termed as plans to divide the Mt Kenya region.

Eugene, who spoke during the interdenominational funeral attended by the DP, said they would fully stand by the region.

"We want to remind those trying to ignite a fire in the Mountain that they should know this Mountain has friends," he said.

“When you see Kalonzo here, he is a friend of the Mountain. He was the vice president of President Mwai Kibaki during his second term. When you see Wamalwa here, Wamalwa was Kibaki’s vice president during the first term. Just know we are your friends. If the day comes and this Mountain calls upon us, we will stand with you; you will not walk alone."

Independence party Kanu, another Azimio affiliate, also insists on having both Ruto and his deputy impeached.

However in the National Assembly, Azimio Minority Leader Junet Mohammed has been coordinating the signing of the petition to send the DP packing.

ODM on Friday told the Wiper boss to stop meddling in a parliamentary issue as the ouster bid was not a party matter.

Deputy leader Geoffrey Osotsi told the Star the matter should be left to parliamentarians.

“For us as ODM, we are very clear the impeachment is not a party issue. It is a parliamentary issue, so the MPs will make a decision on how they are going to vote. It is left to MPs and their leadership,” Osotsi said on phone.

“That is why we are not going to have a Parliamentary Group meeting to make a collective decision on it.”

The Vihiga senator dismissed the remarks of Kalonzo and Wamalwa.

“It is premature for people to start taking stands, even in the Standing Orders there is anticipation of debate. Once the motion is tabled, members will be free to make their sound decision on which way to vote.”

 Governance expert Javas Bigambo said the Kalonzo wing of Azimio has no numerical strength to save the DP.

“Kalonzo needs to have a stand on issues; even on the Rigathi impeachment what are the substantive issues that will inform his position?” Bigambo said.

“We have not even seen him summoning Wiper or Azimio leaders in anticipation of the motion. And if he calls the Azimio meeting will they honour?”

In Azimio, ODM is the largest party with 86 MPs followed by Jubilee, which has 28, and Wiper third with 26 lawmakers.

Wamalwa’s DAP-K and Kanu have five elected MPs each.

This means Kalonzo's faction can only marshal 36 MPs, which might not be enough to turn the tables in favour of the Deputy President.

Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza has 231 MPs in the National Assembly, 179 elected through the coalition and others poached from the opposition.

The ruling United Democratic Alliance party has 139 MPs, Ford Kenya six, while the Musalia Mudavadi-linked Amani National Congress has six.

Added to the ODM numbers, Ruto can comfortably pull 317 MPs to his corner.

The motion must be supported by at least 233 MPs in the National Assembly for it to sail through to the Senate.

 The Star has established that last minute attempts by the second in command to mend fences with his boss had hit a dead end.

Gachagua's camp, sources said, dispatched religious leaders and elders to dissuade President Ruto from the impeachment motion believed to have the blessings of State House.

“I confirm there have been attempts by some respectable elders and religious leaders to intervene but that window closed with his weekend activities,” an MP aware of the intrigues told the Star.

Tellingly, ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit on Friday called for dialogue between the President and his deputy, saying impeachment was not a solution.

"As the church, we don't advocate for the impeachment; we ask those who are advocating for it to embrace dialogue, and we call upon the two to sit the way they sat and agreed to walk together so that Kenya is not put in the kind of division that they are putting it today," Sapit said.

In what also appears to be playing by a script, the Gema Cultural Association placed a full page paid advert in the newspapers in support of the embattled Deputy President.

"We stand in solidarity with HE Rigathi Gachagua, the Deputy President, and demand that he should be left to finish his term," the sssociation said.

Gachagua's team is banking on his new friends in Azimio led by Kalonzo to help him raise the numbers to defeat the motion.

The grounds for impeachment include the DP's alleged links to the historic storming of Parliament by youths on June 25.

Already, his close associates are facing charges related to the planning of the demos that pushed the country to the edge.

On Thursday, Gachagua said he was aware of plans to use the mayhem as one of the grounds.

“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 in a statement.

The constitution requires the impeachment motion to be supported by two-thirds, which translates to 233 votes in the National Assembly and 45 in the Senate.

Proponents of Gachagua’s ouster believe it is just a matter of time, ruling out any chances of the motion being defeated on the floor of the House.

National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro hinted that the process is as good as concluded.

“It is done,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa also in a telling post alluded to a well-calculated move.

“We shall get every detail correct….not even water..leave alone air can [seep] through this process,” Barasa said.

“We have the DP going overboard trying to undercut his boss, William Ruto. We believe this is a relationship, and just like a marriage when one partner goes out and reveals to the whole world how the marriage is not working, if you go to any court of law, that marriage should be annulled,” Soy MP David Kiplagat said.

Gachagua's relationship with Ruto got strained with the naming of the broad-based government that includes ODM bigwigs.

Ruto's allies accuse the DP of being a tribalist due to his sectarian Mt Kenya politics and open agitation for one-man-one-vote-one-shilling mantra.

Gachagua has previously stated that he’s unapologetic for openly expressing his love for Central Kenya region and its people.

"I'm guilty as charged, I have no defence that I love my people, care for them and think about them. I'm guilty as charged,” he said on July 28.