Impeachment Motion: Sakaja & 2 Witnesses Set To Testify Against Gachagua
This is as Gachagua on Saturday, October 5 unveiled a team of top legal minds who will challenge his ouster.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
With the atmosphere surrounding the motion on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment intensifying by the day, it is now emerging that three witnesses will be lined up to testify against him in the coming week in Parliament.
This is as Gachagua on Saturday, October 5 unveiled a team of top legal minds who will challenge his ouster. Senior Counsels will lead the legal team, which will include Paul Muite, Victor Swanya, Tom Macharia, Amos Kisilu, and Elisha Ongoya.
Gachagua has not been seen in public for the past five days, both offline and online, with his last public engagement being the address to the Kalenjin nation via radio on the eve of the tabling of his impeachment motion.
Per media reports, the legal team has been engaging Gachagua in highly secretive meetings at his Karen residence on consecutive occasions to mount a formidable defence against the 11 grounds levelled against their client in the impeachment motion.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite during a past press briefing. /CAPITAL FM
The lawyers are expected to represent him at the Senate should the National Assembly make good its threat to send Gachagua home by impeaching him and forwarding his ouster motion to Senate Speaker, Amason Kingi. They have been going through the charges and guiding Gachagua on how he will defend himself against charges that will be levelled against him by the three key witnesses, including a member of President William Ruto's Cabinet.
As reported by NTV, arguably the most prominent witness to testify against him will be Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, whom Gachagua has been at loggerheads with on certain occasions. In his sworn affidavit, he accused the second in command of opposing the relocation of traders from the Wakulima Market in the capital city to the Kangundo Road market, which is the decision of the Nairobi County government, not of the DP's office, therefore a violation of the principle of the separation of powers.
Another witness set to testify against Gachagua will be Secretary to the Cabinet, Mercy Wanjau, who in her affidavit, accused Gachagua of opposing the evacuation of Nairobi residents living in riparian land next to the Nairobi River, yet the Cabinet, in which Gachagua sits, had approved the evacuation.
Former Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Andrew Mulwa is the third witness. In his sworn affidavit to the National Assembly, has accused Gachagua and his last-born son of interference in the issuance of a Ksh3.7 billion mosquito net tender.
The DP, who knows too well the magnitude of his case, is relying on at least 20 lawyers, who have already hit the ground running with a mission to save him from impeachment. The lawyers who spoke to the press noted that they would defend the second in command against all the accusations levelled against him by the MPs backing the motion.
In particular, the lawyers noted that they would challenge the decision to only allocate two days for public participation arguing this limited time is inconsistent with the constitution which seeks to give adequate time for citizens to air their views making the recent process, in their view, inadequate and ineffective.
Muite, a seasoned lawyer with legal and political experience spanning over 30 years, told Citizen TV that his team is already examining the fine print on documents submitted. He successfully defended former Embu Governor Martin Wambora against an impeachment motion and argued then that there was no proper public participation before the removal of the Governor.
Gachagua’s team hopes to ride on this same ground, which they have sustained since the impeachment motion was tabled.
Furthermore, the lawyers will also demand the removal of the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and his deputy, Gladys Boss Shollei from participating in the impeachment process since they have already pronounced themselves on the matter.
According to the lawyers, the duo who were supposed to be impartial on such a sensitive matter, publicly intimated they support Gachagua's ouster which effectively means they are not neutral.
“You’re giving a notice at night, and people are waking up now about what is to be done today. How fair is that? Notice should be reasonable and should be between 4-7 days,” stated Swanya. “For the sake of justice, I think the two principal officers should recuse themselves, as this debate is coming up."
The lawyers further noted that they would move to the Supreme Court of Kenya as a last resort, to see to it that Gachagua's impeachment fate is not sealed, even though there is a raging debate on whether or not he should resign from office. In particular, Article 75, 3 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 bars a State officer removed from office from ever holding any other State office.
On Tuesday, October 1, the Speaker of the National Assembly announced that the embattled deputy president would have a chance to defend himself before his impeachment is decided. Wetangula disclosed that Gachagua would have two hours on October 8, 2024, during which he would be expected to mount his defence.
The motion will be considered following the completion of the public participation exercise that ended on Saturday, October 5. Once the motion is handled at the National Assembly, Speaker Moses Wetangula will then inform the Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi who will then take over the matter.
Speaker Kingi will then convene a Senate plenary within seven days during which the motion shall be heard and a committee established to interrogate the allegations within 10 days.
