‘Not interested in money’: Gachagua denies demanding Ksh.8B ‘exit package’

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has denied allegations he banged the table during a meeting with his boss, President William Ruto after he was reportedly denied a Ksh.8 billion package to vacate his post.

The allegations are tied to the impeachment motion against the DP which is due for tabling on Tuesday.

Gachagua is accused of seeking compensation for every vote Ruto got in the vote-rich Mount Kenya region he hails from in their 2022 presidential bid to leave office.

But in an interview with local radio stations from the Mt Kenya East region on Sunday, Gachagua dismissed the reports as baseless.

He maintained that he has no interest in any benefits and that his priority is in serving Kenyans.

“I have no interest in any benefits or any money,” the DP said.

“If it is money I wanted, I would have been bought out by political opponents to part ways with President Ruto, but I am not greedy. I don’t have many needs; my children are grown up and my wife is a pastor… I do not put money first, Kenyans are my priority.”

Earlier in the day, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah confirmed that the much-awaited impeachment motion against Gachagua will be tabled on Tuesday.

“As MP for Kikuyu, I have appended my signature to remove (Gachagua) from office. We must stop the sabotage of government from within,” Ichung’wah told a church service in Kikuyu.

In the motion, Gachagua is accused of among other things violation of Article 10 on the National Values and Principles of Governance on account of his public utterances which his accusers say have been inciteful, reckless inflammatory and capable of stirring ethnic hatred and balkanization.

Others are violations of articles 147, 148,174,186 and 189 which speak to his conduct and responsibility as the principal assistant to the President, and corruptly and unlawfully acquiring assets using taxpayers' money.

Gachagua is also accused of violations of both national and international law; undermining the National Cohesion and Integration Act; violation of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act; violation of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act; and violation of the Penal Code and the Leadership and Integrity Act, among others.

The motion will require the support of 233 MPs to sail through and reports indicate that as of the close of business Sunday, 302 members of parliament had appended their signatures.

If the motion sails through, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula will communicate the resolution within two days to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi for action.

The Senate speaker will then convene the House and deliberate on the matter within seven days and if 45 senators out of 67 endorse the grounds, DP Gachagua ceases holding office as Kenya's deputy president.