Kenya's Deputy President impeachment motion to be tabled next week with 300 signatures collected

By Emmanuel Too, NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya's National Assembly members are expected to table the impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (pictured) on Tuesday next week, with reports indicating that the collection of signatures was close to reaching the required mark by Friday evening.

The motion, which must be backed by 117 legislators for it to be introduced in the House, must also garner the support of 233 MPs before being transmitted to the Senate.

On Friday, House Leaders in the National Assembly, where the motion must be tabled first, told Citizen TV that the proposal was well on course and that the signature collection drive had racked up close to 300 signatures.

"I can confirm to you that signatures are being collected and have reached 260 by Thursday evening and are now nearing 300," National Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya told Citizen TV.

"There is a stampede; members are moving to sign the motion," Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro added.The legislators disclosed that the motion is expected to be tabled early next week.

The signatures, which have remained a secret by the proponents, are said to be collected by regional caucus whips, who have been holding night meetings to take a common position.

The signatures, which have remained a secret among the proponents, are said to be collected by regional caucus whips who have been holding night meetings to establish a common position.

Leaders from Rift Valley are reported to have been the first to meet on Tuesday evening with an agenda to protect the presidency.

Other groups from the Mt. Kenya, Western, and Coast  regions followed suit, with a hotel in Lavington, Nairobi, serving as the point of convergence for some groups.

The signature collection drive is, however, said to be overseen by Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah and Minority Leader Junet Mohammed, both of whom are receiving real-time updates on the status of the signatures.

"Members are signing according to regions and counties… In the coastal region only one member has not signed; one member recently flew from Mombasa just to sign and went back," said Baya.

"It is a matter of when, not if, the motion will be tabled," Osoro added.

However, the manner in which the signatures have been kept under wraps has raised eyebrows, with questions arising about whether the motion is even in place.

Articles 145-150 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 outline the process for impeaching a Deputy President, a procedure similar to that which the President is subjected to.

The mover of the motion in the National Assembly must gather the support of at least a third of all the members—in this case, 117 legislators—to introduce the motion.

Once in the house, the motion must be accompanied by watertight grounds that include gross violations of the Constitution or any other law, crimes under national or international law, and gross misconduct.

"We are building a very watertight case since the DP is a person of a high stature," Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa said.

The legislators, who have listed several grounds including Gachagua's shareholding narrative, undermining the President, and tribalism, among others, must make these grounds stick.

They are said to have engaged top city lawyers who are working diligently to prevent any eventualities that could lead to the impeachment being overturned by the courts.

"We have a team of lawyers from the house and outside who are meeting every afternoon to seal all legal loopholes," said Baya.

If it garners the support of 233 MPs, representing two-thirds of the total 349 MPs, the motion will be transmitted to the Senate, where the proponents in the upper house must marshal the support of 45 senators for the impeachment to be completed.

In this case, Gachagua will need 23 senators to survive the impeachment. The senators may, however, decide to handle the matter in a committee of 11 members or in plenary.