The National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has written to his Senate counterpart Amason Kingi, notifying him of their resolution to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The letter, seen by TUKIO.co.ke, was received by Jeremiah Nyegenye, the clerk of the Senate on Wednesday, October 9 at 8am.
Attached to the letter is the notice of Special Motion to impeach Gachagua and the affidavit of MP Mwangi Mutuse, electronic evidence relating to the motion, evidence showing the advertised public participation exercise, public views, among others.
On Tuesday, October 8, 281 MPs voted in support of the ouster motion, surpassing the two-thirds threshold (233) required to impeach the deputy president.
After receiving the motion from Wetang’ula, Kingi is required to convene a Senate meeting within seven days to consider the charges against Gachagua.
As outlined in Article 145 (3)(b), the Senate may establish a Special Committee of 11 Members to investigate the allegations within this seven-day timeframe. Articles 145 (4)(a) and (b) mandate that this Committee report its findings to the Senate within 10 days.
If at least Two-Thirds of the Senate Members—comprising 67 total, including 47 elected and 20 nominated—vote to uphold any impeachment charges, the Deputy President shall cease to hold office, as specified in Article 145 (7).
This means that a minimum of 45 senators must support the Motion to remove the Deputy President from office.
Article 145 (2)(b) further clarifies that the Deputy President will continue to perform his duties pending the outcome of the Senate.
