MPs demand security for themselves, Ruto as DP Gachagua impeachment motion tabled

Members of Parliament are demanding for security assurance following the tabling of an impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed on Tuesday urged Speaker Moses Wetangula to liaise with the recently installed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to guarantee security to 291 MPs who voted in support of the impeachment motion.

The firebrand lawmaker claimed that some of the MPs had expressed fears about supporting the motion since it involved removing the country’s second-in-command.

He compared the ouster to the United States’ removal of Donald Trump, reiterating that the lawmakers should be accorded security while in Parliament and at personal levels.

“I want to get your assurance as the boss of this House that the 291 MPs who have signed this motion, their safety and security will be guaranteed because the motion does not end at the notice but it will go through to voting,” said Junet.

“We want those 291 MPs to turn up here on the day of voting without any one of them missing. We have just passed the IG of Police Mr Kanja to guarantee the safety of the 291 MPs. What we are doing is not a small thing; when Trump was being removed from the US, we knew what it was trying to do. Let us not begrudge anyone because what the House is doing is Constitutional. When the MPs were signing that is what they told me; we are in support but we want things done legally inside and outside parliament.”

Dadaab MP Farah Maalim echoed Junet’s sentiments, opining that the protection should be extended to President William Ruto, who if the DP was to be ousted through the motion, will be expected to assent to it.

The MP went on to allege that he is privy to intel that some unnamed individuals might make reckless attempts to alter the outcome of the motion by eliminating the President, thereby invoking the Constitution for the DP to then assume power and succeed his boss.

“Not only do we need to protect the 291 MPs who have appended their signatures, but we must also protect the system; the IG must protect the President because we know the type of Constitution we have. Any reckless thug might want to change the course of history. God forbid, if anything was to happen to our President,” Maalim said.

“There are people that we are so worried about lately and I get the feeling that they can even have have the capacity to plan something like that…if something were to happen, then we have much bigger problems to worry about.”

Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, who has been at loggerheads with the DP, similarly appealed to security organs to ensure the MPs are protected inside and outside Parliament.

Ichung'wah cited the historic storming of Parliament during the Gen Z demonstrations, insisting that security forces should beef up security to guarantee the safety of elected members.

"The security of MPs is paramount. On 25th June, you, Mr. Speaker are a target for elimination based on the position you hold. You must direct the IG who was approved by this House to ensure that when this House is sitting inside and outside, members are secured, even in their houses. We are not dealing with an ordinary man but a black man with a very black heart," he noted.

Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse on Tuesday formally tabled Gachagua’s impeachment motion in Parliament, citing grounds concrete enough to kick him out of office.

Speaker Wetangula read out the impeachment motion against the DP after confirming that 291 MPs had supported it hence surpassing the threshold. For any motion to be tabled, it requires the support of at least 117 lawmakers.

The lawmaker tabled a 100-page document, indicating that he had satisfactory evidence to support his grounds and prove that Gachagua was not suitable to remain in office.