Nyandarua County Senator John Methu on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, reminisced about the camaraderie President William Ruto initially had with his disgraced former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, lamenting that the union had come to its conclusive end.
Methu, who was among the handful of leaders who backed Gachagua during his impeachment trial at the Senate, accompanied Gachagua to his rural home during the swearing-in ceremony of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on November 1, 2024.
“Hadi tukakunywa chai chini ya mti, lakini wapi,” Methu agonised over the fallout with Ruto in a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Gachagua’s loyalists
Methu was among the senators who stuck with Gachagua at the Senate alongside Kajiado County Senator Seki ole Kanar, Kiambu’s Karungo Thang’wa, and their Murang’a counterpart Joe Nyutu, among other leaders.
During his impeachment vote at the Senate, as he was battling for his life at the Karen Hospital, the 67 lawmakers of the Senate found the DP guilty on five grounds but absolved him on six charges.
54 Senators upheld the first count on gross violation of Articles 10 (2)(a), (b), and (c); 27 (4), 73 (1)(a) and (2)(b); 75 (1)(c), and 129 (2) of the Constitution; and Article 147 (1), as read together with Article 131 (2)(c) and (d) of the Constitution. The vote also saw 13 of the lawmakers vote against.
Also, on the second charge of undermining presidential and cabinet direction, 39 senators voted to save Gachagua, while 28 voted that he had indeed undermined the president.
Gachagua was also absolved of the charge, stating that he had undermined devolution. He was, however, voted out on the count of the violation of the constitution on the institutional and decisional independence of judges.
Impeached
“The Senate has resolved to remove from office Deputy President through impeachment, and therefore he ceases to hold office,” Speaker Amason Kingi ruled on October 17, 2024.
This came after Gachagua’s lead counsel, Paul Muite, pleaded with the senators to allow his client at least five more days to recover and present himself in person for questioning against the 11 charges.
However, when the matter was put to a vote on the floor of the house, senators voted to proceed with the trial and voting even in the absence of Gachagua, who had been taken ill with severe chest pains.
Gachagua on Tuesday, November 5, appealed to his base in the Mt. Kenya region to stay silent over his impeachment even as they chart a way forward.
