The National Assembly Wednesday announced that its Thursday, October 3, 2024, sitting will be suspended to allow for critical administrative arrangements to facilitate comprehensive public participation in Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s ongoing impeachment process.
This decision, spearheaded by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, was made in advance of the debate on the Special Motion to Remove the Deputy President from Office.
The debate is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, and will continue until the motion’s consideration is completed later that afternoon.
Ichung’wah emphasised the importance of detailed public involvement, urging Members of Parliament (MPs) to support and facilitate participation at the grassroots level.
“We want to conduct granular public participation from polling stations, and I urge MPs to facilitate this,” he stated during the announcement.
Under Standing Order 30(3), the assembly decided to extend its Tuesday session until the impeachment motion was fully debated.
The debate structure provides the motion’s mover with 60 minutes, followed by 30 minutes to respond.
Key leaders, including the Majority and Minority Leaders, as well as the Seconder, will each have 10 minutes to speak, while other members will have five minutes to express their opinions on the subject.
A total of 291 of the 345 members of the National Assembly appended their signatures in support of the impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, exposing the soft underbelly of the number two in command.
There were a few surprises, as Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro gave the process a wide berth despite being a trusted foot soldier of President William Ruto.
Reports suggest he is out of the country.
After days of speculation about whether or not there were enough numbers to introduce his impeachment motion, the numbers were overwhelming. It was the moment of truth and an hour of reckoning for DP Gachagua.
The DP only managed less than 20 percent of the House, as the MPs in the National Assembly shot over and beyond the required 117-member threshold by 174 members to have the historic motion tabled.
From the onset, the stage was set, with the mood of the house hyped, as some members turned into cheerleaders who shouted the name “patriot” whenever the name of the member who signed the motion was excitedly read out by the mover, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse.
Some of the notable names that stood to be counted during the 2:30 PM heated session included that of Jubilee nominated MP Sabina Chege, who has in the recent past come out strongly to defend the deputy president.
Those who supported the motion called for the security of President William Ruto and their own, by extension, to be beefed up.
They also asked the MPs’ security to be enhanced.
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