Speaker Kingi gazettes Senate sitting to hear charges against DP Gachagua
By Maureen Kinyanjui |
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula had earlier officially communicated to the Senate the resolution on Gachagua’s ouster.
Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi has gazetted the morning session on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, as a sitting to hear the charges against the removal from office by impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula had earlier officially communicated to the Senate the resolution on Gachagua’s ouster.
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Samuel Njoroge, the Clerk of the National Assembly sent the communication in a letter dated October 9, 2024.
In a historic move on Tuesday, 281 Members of Parliament voted to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, surpassing the required two-thirds majority set by the Constitution.
The impeachment motion, spearheaded by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, accused the Deputy President of numerous violations, including breaches of the Constitution, discriminatory public statements, and undermining the presidency.
In total, 44 MPs voted against the impeachment motion, while one MP abstained from the vote.
The Senate was meant to have Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Cabinet Secretaries Beatrice Askul (EAC) and Deborah Barasa (Health) appear before the House to answer several questions.
However, Speaker Kingi notified the house that two CSs won't be appearing before the Senators.
“I have received two letters one from the CS in charge of EAC indicating that she is not in a position to attend this session today and also the CS in charge of health has also indicated she will not attend today’s session,” he said.
The Speaker informed the Senators that they would be having a busy day hence possibility of limiting number of supplementary questions directed to the Prime CS.
“We expect a supplementary order paper as we proceed so that we prosecute other urgent matters,” Kingi said.
By law, the Senate acts as a court of law adjudicating the matters of impeachment.
Articles 144 and 145 of the Kenyan Constitution explain what happens after the National Assembly votes to impeach the Deputy President.
Following the DP's impeachment on Tuesday, the Speaker of the National Assembly was expected to convey the resolution to impeach the Deputy President to the Senate within two days.
Within 7 days of receiving the notice, the Speaker of the Senate is expected to convene a meeting of the Senate to hear the charges against the Deputy President.
It is worth noting that the hearing may be in plenary or the Senate may appoint a special Committee of 11 Senators to investigate the matter.
The committee has seven days within which to report to the House.
Each charge will be voted on individually, and if at least two-thirds of the Senate members vote to uphold any charge, the Deputy President will be removed from office.
If the allegations are unsubstantiated, the Deputy President will continue to serve in office and if substantiated, the second-in-command will cease becoming the DP.
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