He went ahead to add another, from Jeremiah 30:19, that states: “From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honour, and they will not be disdained.”
Gachagua, who will now face the Senate to defend himself against the impeachment push, further simply added: “It is well.”
Bird’s eye view of Parliament as of October 8, 2024. /PARLIAMENT KENYA
281 members of the National Assembly voted to impeach Gachagua, way past the required two-thirds majority set by the Constitution.
44 MPs voted against the impeachment motion, while one MP abstained from the vote. National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, while announcing the results, reiterated the constitutional requirements under Article 145 (2) for the motion to succeed.
“As I had guided the House earlier in today’s sitting, Article 145 (2) of the Constitution sets a threshold of at least two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly to vote in support of the Special Motion for the proposed removal by impeachment of the Deputy President of the Republic,” Wetang’ula said.
According to the results, the required majority was achieved, prompting Speaker Wetang’ula to commit to the next steps.
“In this regard, I’ll proceed to discharge the duty placed on me by Article 145 (2b) of the Constitution, under which I will notify the Speaker of the Senate of the resolution of the National Assembly within two days,” he said.
The road to kicking out Gachagua, potentially the first time in the history of the Republic of Kenya, began following the introduction of a Special Motion by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse.
It outlined 11 charges against the Deputy President, including gross violation of the Constitution, undermining the President and the Cabinet, undermining Devolution, and compromising judicial independence by publicly attacking a judge.
With the number of MPs sailing well above the required threshold of 233, Gachagua was powerless to save himself from a motion which he has claimed multiple times was politically turned into a weapon against him by his enemies in government and that the charges were too wild to warrant an impeachment.
Gachagua’s impeachment process is not yet complete as more than two-thirds of the National Assembly will be looking at the Senate with a bombastic side-eye. The approval has now paved the way for the motion to transition to the Senate – which now holds the key to the DP’s fate.
Immediately after the impeachment, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula directed the clerk to prepare the necessary documentation and present it to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, who already hinted at the Senate’s readiness to handle the matter earlier today noting, “The Senate, being the trial chamber, will be sitting as a quasi-judicial body to hear and determine the Deputy President’s matter.”
When the motion has been passed by two-thirds (233) of all members of the National Assembly, the Speaker shall inform the Speaker of the Senate of that resolution within two days.
Once the National Assembly speaker forwards the House resolutions to his Senate counterpart, senators will seek to substantiate the charges or reject them as per Standing Order 79.
Read more: What Will Happen At Senate After MPs Impeach Rigathi Gachagua
