Mandera East MP rallies residents to support Gachagua impeachment

 

A section of Mandera residents participated in a public forum to air views on the plan by the National Assembly to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. [Ibrahim Adan Ali, Standard]

An MP from Mandera County on Saturday rallied his constituents to support the removal of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office through impeachment.

Mandera East Member of Parliament Hussein Weytaan Abdirahman told the residents that there is enough evidence for the National Assembly to pass the impeachment motion come next week.

Speaking to the residents on Saturday during a public participation in the impeachment plan, the legislator urged the residents to stand in solidarity with the National Assembly’s resolve to send Gachagua parking.

On Tuesday, a total of 291 lawmakers signed in support of a motion to impeach Gachagua.

The motion, moved by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, cites 11 grounds for Gachagua’s removal, including gross violation of the Constitution, misconduct, and violations of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, as well as the Leadership and Integrity Act.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula confirmed that the motion had met the required threshold of at least 117 MPs and was formally received by the Clerk of the National Assembly on September 27.

“The Deputy President has all along been dividing Kenyans on tribal lines and together with his allies, he is linked to the financing of Gen Z protests that left a trail of destruction across the country. This is why 291 out of the 345 MPs signed the petition to impeach him,” said Abdirahman.

According to the legislator, Mr Gachagua has in many instances made utterances that contradict President William Ruto’s stand on matters of national interest.

"As much as everyone is entitled to their opinion, as your representative in the August house I would like to inform you that the DP Gachagua has in many instances made utterances that isolate our region from the rest of the country,” the MP said.

Abdirahman said the DP is among politicians opposing the allocation of funds given to Northern counties including Mandera as he introduced one man one-shilling proposal.

List: The 291 MPs backing Gachagua's impeachment motion

He tipped his electorates that Gachagua does not have any support from his home yard as most of the MPs from the central region are in full support of the impeachment plan.

In the session that was chaired by County Assembly Assistant Clerk Abdullahi Adan, the participants unanimously resolved to support Gachagua’s ouster on grounds of nepotism and division of the country along tribal lines.

A section of Mandera residents participated in a public forum to air views on the plan by the National Assembly to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. [Ibrahim Adan Ali, Standard]

Arfon Dahir who is a member of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Mandera chapter said it was unfortunate that Gachagua had chosen to lean towards ‘the mountain’ while sidelining the other part of the country.

"The deputy president who ought to be a pillar of national unity has publicly shown exceptional support for his community in the mountains making him unfit to lead the country in the right direction," said agitated Dahir.

Her sentiments were echoed by Osman Rakhiso, an elder who faulted Gachagua for obstructing developmental programs in the North Eastern region, with Mandera County being particularly affected.

"The DP has on several occasions stood against appointments of our Somali professionals from securing state jobs hindering development in NE counties", said Rakhiso.

Residents urged leaders from the Northeastern region to continue supporting the impeachment process at the parliamentary level.

The public forums are expected to continue today at the constituency level across the country following a directive from the National Assembly Clerk.

"Further to the public participation exercise which commenced on October 2, and the collection of views on October 4, all 290 constituency offices and the 47 county women representative offices, under the Parliamentary Service Commission, will remain open on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to facilitate further public input on the Special Motion," the Clerk announced.