Former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow claims that the executive branch influenced the impeachment motion against Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.
The National Assembly special committee investigating the CS Linturi impeachment move on Monday found no evidence of misconduct on the part of the CS and declared that the motion's grounds were unfounded.
Out of the 11 MPs on the committee, seven voted in favor of preserving the CS.
Kerrow said President William Ruto provided "cues" to vote against the impeachment motion. Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance MPs made up the majority in the committee.
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The former senator stated on Tuesday that the way Ruto and Kimani Ichung'wah, the majority leader of the National Assembly, were responding to the motion suggested that the CS would not be removed.
"The verdict of the committee is not surprising. There were no indications that the government would allow this to be done impartially. It seemed that the majority leader was not in support of the vote by 149 MPs," Kerrow told Citizen TV's Daybreak program.
He was referring to the National Assembly's vote on Thursday, in which 149 members approved the formation of a committee to look into Linturi's behavior, while 36 members opposed it.
The CS continued to attend State House and government gatherings. Kerrow continued that the president was expected to use the MPs' decision as justification to state that the CS was unable to attend a meeting due to a corruption case.
The committee's decision on Monday, according to Kerrow, "was from the Executive or an attempt to save one of their own."
"There is political experience involved in these cases always. People take their cue from the Executive," he said.
The select committee's decision caused a stir in Parliament when opposition lawmakers charged it with wrongdoing and corruption.
However, Kenya Kwanza lawmakers stood by the committee's ruling, claiming that the supporters of the impeachment motion had not provided sufficient proof to support Linturi's removal.
MP Jack Wamboka of Bumula sponsored Linturi's impeachment motion.
MP Wamboka had provided three grounds for the minister's removal: flagrant misconduct, substantial grounds to suspect the CS of breaking national law, and flagrant violations of the Constitution or any other law.
The accusations concern the purchase and distribution of fertilizer that is subsidized by the government, which is currently being investigated for possible phony claims.
