Kenya’s Senate Confirms Gachagua’s Fate Will Be Through Plenary, Speaker Directs DP To File Responses
The Senate will hear the impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday and Thursday next week in a plenary session.
On Wednesday morning, the Senate decided to allow all 47 Senators to hear the case against Gachagua and then table a report in the House.
The charges brought against H.E. Rigathi Gachagua, EGH, Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, in the proposed motion for impeachment pic.twitter.com/r47aLL4fVU
— Rt. Hon. Amason Jeffah Kingi, EGH. (@HonAmasonKingi) October 9, 2024
The decision was made after Edwin Sifuna, the Minority Leader in the Senate, opposed the motion to determine whether the Senate would use the committee of 11 senators to hear the motion against Gachagua.
During a Senate session, Sifuna was asked to second the motion put forward by Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot.
Senate Majority Leader @Aaroncheruiyot (Kericho): I urge Members to agree with me that we elect 11 of our wisest and most trusted Senators from both sides of the House to consider this Motion. #SenateLive pic.twitter.com/FTfv9R4riH
— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) October 9, 2024
“This is uncharted territory that the Senate is being invited to conduct the impeachment hearing of a Deputy President,” Senator Cheruyiot said while moving the motion.
“Much as this is constitutional, it is the first time this is happening. I want to urge members to agree with me that we elect 11 of our wisest to read on our behalf and make a decision.”
Sen. @edwinsifuna declines to second the motion by the Majority Leader @Aaroncheruiyot for the establishment of a special committee to investigate the proposed removal from office by impeachment, of the Deputy President H.E. Rigathi Gachagua.
— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) October 9, 2024
The matter will be heard in plenary pic.twitter.com/HCuYJEabnU
Sifuna while refusing to second the motion stated, “This is a matter that is very unique and has elicited public attention. Therefore, given the mood of the house especially on the minority side, I respectfully decline to second that motion.”
This left the Senate with only one option: hear the impeachment motion against Gachagua with all members present. As a result, Speaker Amason Kingi directed Gachagua to file his responses by Monday at 5:00 p.m.
Kingi also ordered that the Senate hear the impeachment motion against DP Gachagua on Wednesday and Thursday, October 16 and 17, next week.
The Speaker of the Senate @HonAmasonKingi gives directions on the proposed removal from office, by impeachment, of H.E. Rigathi Gachagua, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya. #SenateLive pic.twitter.com/PmcKJviDMq
— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) October 9, 2024
“You will note that the Senate Majority Leader has moved a motion, the motion has however, failed to get a seconder, Standing Order 70 of the Senate SOs states that the question on any motion shall not be proposed unless it shall has been seconded and any motion that is not seconded shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and shall not be moved again in the same session,” asserted Kingi.
Before then, the Senate clerk will send communications to Gachagua and the National Assembly outlining the plenary schedule and response deadlines.
The Senate clerk has until Tuesday evening to share all motion-related documents with all Senators.
On Tuesday, October 8, the National Assembly voted to impeach DP Gachagua, making him the first Deputy President to be removed under the 2010 Constitution.
He now has the opportunity to remain in office if he can convince senators that the charges against him are unfounded.
In the Senate, unlike the National Assembly, the motion’s mover, MP Mwengi Mutuse, will be able to call witnesses and present additional evidence against Gachagua.
The country’s second-in-command can cross-examine witnesses and present evidence to refute their testimony.
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Gachagua will also have the freedom to call any witnesses in order to impeach or defend himself against the 11 charges leveled against him.
When it comes to voting, Senators will vote on each and every charge separately, and if they find him guilty of even one, they will uphold the National Assembly’s impeachment.
If Gachagua is dissatisfied with the Senate’s decision, he can file a lawsuit, which may prolong the case.
With only three years left in the Kenya Kwanza administration, political restructuring could force President William Ruto to reconsider his 2027 strategy.
Kenya’s Senate Confirms Gachagua’s Fate Will Be Through Plenary, Speaker Directs DP To File Responses
