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A motion for the impeachment of Gachagua was proposed in
parliament on Tuesday and Kenyans were given until Friday to
fill out public participation forms at their constituencies.
Public forums are being held across the country to discuss the
impeachment.
In the capital, Nairobi, a public forum at the Bomas of Kenya
turned violent as supporters of President William Ruto clashed
with those supporting Gachagua. Chairs were thrown in the
auditorium and an activist Morara Kebaso, known for exposing
stalled government projects, said he had been injured.
In central Kenya’s Nyeri county, police clashed with supporters
of the deputy president as they chanted that there would be no
president if his deputy is impeached. The two were elected on a
joint ticket.
In Nyandarua county, opponents were called out as being traitors
and were chased out of the community hall.
Some 291 legislators, more than the 117 constitutional
requirement, signed the impeachment motion before it was
introduced, but a number of them from the deputy president’s
home tuff say they no longer support the motion after hearing
contrary views from their constituents.
“If the deputy president is guilty, then his boss the president
is equally guilty,” a woman supporter told Citizen TV.
Gachagua is facing impeachment on 10 grounds that include
corruption, ethnic discrimination and contradicting government
policies.
He has maintained that he is innocent and has vowed to fight the
impeachment motion.
The high court on Thursday declined to stop Friday’s public
participation and set next Wednesday as the date for the
hearing.
President Ruto has not weighed into his deputy’s impeachment
debate.
He is on record in the earlier days of his presidency saying he
would not publicly humiliate his deputy, alluding to the
troubled relationship he had with his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta
during their second term in office.
The senate is expected to hear the impeachment motion on Tuesday
next week.
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