Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua faced another challenge as the High Court declined to grant interim orders to stop Friday’s public participation exercise regarding his impeachment motion in the National Assembly.
Just hours before the nationwide public participation was set to take place, Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia conducted a local version of the exercise in his constituency. Kaguchia is one of the MPs who did not sign the impeachment motion.
During the event, Kaguchia commented, “When a child makes a mistake, you discipline them and bring them back home. You don’t kick them out.” A local resident added, “If the conductor is bad, then the driver is also bad. We elected Ruto because of Gachagua, and if Gachagua is bad, they are both bad.”
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While Mukurweini residents expressed their views on the Deputy President’s impeachment, Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri rejected a summons from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over accusations that she planned to hire goons to disrupt the public participation exercise in Kerugoya. Njeri dismissed the claims as politically driven, stating, “These allegations are baseless and politically motivated.”
Njeri, a vocal legislator, also claimed she is being targeted along with other allies of the Deputy President for refusing to follow government directives on legislative matters. "KRA officers have backdated tax filings, and auditors have been sent to our offices," she added.
Despite Gachagua’s efforts to block the public participation exercise, the High Court denied the request to issue interim orders. The hearing for the case is scheduled for October 9, 2024. The application, submitted by Fredrick Kiberi, argued that the public participation should take place at the ward level across all 1,450 wards in the country, rather than at the constituency level.
