(Nairobi) Kenyan deputies adopted on Tuesday evening a motion to impeach Vice-President Rigathi Gachagua, accused in particular of corruption within the framework of this unprecedented procedure, the culmination of several months of open conflict between the president and his deputy.
The motion was approved by 281 MPs out of the 349 members of the National Assembly, more than the two-thirds required, said Parliament Speaker Moses Wetangula. There were 44 votes against and one abstention, according to the same source.
The motion must now be submitted to the Senate where 45 votes will be needed. Supported by a team of around twenty lawyers, Mr. Gachagua defended himself before the deputies for nearly two hours Tuesday evening, relying on a 500-page document.
He rejected the accusations against him, which he described Monday evening as “pure propaganda” and “a plot aimed at [le] oust from power due to other political considerations.”
Submitted a week ago by a deputy from the presidential coalition (Kenya Kwanza), the motion lists eleven grounds for dismissal, including those of “undermining national unity”, “insubordination” towards the president as well as numerous suspicions of “economic crimes” (embezzlement of public funds, conflicts of interest, abuse of power, etc.).
She states in particular that “over the last two years, [il] has inexplicably accumulated a colossal property portfolio estimated at Sh5.2 billion [environ 36 millions d’euros]mainly from suspected proceeds of corruption and money laundering.
During his press conference lasting more than two hours Monday evening, the vice-president, aged 59, said he was “innocent”, refuting point by point the accusations, in particular on his assets which he says he inherited from his brother and which he also incorporated legitimately when he was in the business world.
“To the end”
Mr. Gachagua, in open rupture with President William Ruto for several months, repeated that this procedure “cannot” have been launched without the agreement of the Head of State. The President of the National Assembly strongly criticized the vice-president’s statements on the eve of the vote.
“I will not act as a judge in this matter, but I must say that the conduct of the vice president was, to say the least, abhorrent, especially given the ongoing parliamentary proceedings,” he said before the debates on Tuesday.
William Ruto, who remained silent on the subject, had chosen Mr. Gachagua as his running mate for the August 2022 presidential election, despite his sulphurous reputation, already marked by several accusations of corruption.
With a solid network of influence, particularly in the strategic region of Mount Kenya, this politician from the Kikuyu ethnic group – the majority in the country – played a crucial role in Mr. Ruto’s victory against his rival Raila Odinga .
But relations between the two men at the head of state have deteriorated, particularly since an anti-government protest movement which shook the country in June and July. His detractors accuse him of not having supported the head of state in the face of demonstrations demanding his resignation. The repression of this movement left more than 60 dead.
Mr. Gachagua has since considered himself sidelined by the president, who on the other hand has begun a rapprochement with Mr. Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
He ruled out any possibility of resigning, promising a legal battle if necessary: “I will fight until the end […] I have no doubt that I will receive justice and that this impeachment proceeding will be overturned.”
“Political patience”
If adopted, Mr. Gachagua would be the first vice-president removed from power as part of such a procedure, established in the 2010 Constitution. But he could challenge the decision in court.
In 1989, Vice-President Josephat Karanja resigned under similar conditions, before a vote of no confidence accusing him of undermining the authority of President Daniel arap Moi.
For Dismas Mokua, political risk analyst, the ambitious Gachagua imagined himself in “co-presidency” and “did not understand article 147 [de la Constitution]which clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the vice president.”
“He did not have the strategic political patience necessary for this role,” he believes.
His possible dismissal should not provoke spontaneous demonstrations, estimates Dismas Mokua, but “the probability of organized unrest is very high”.