'Silence is consent’: PLO Lumumba points to Ruto’s invisible hand in Gachagua impeachment

Speaking on Wednesday on Citizen TV’s JKLive Show, Lumumba mulled over the National Assembly’s hasty process which led to the ouster of the second-in-command on Tuesday, pointing to a hidden powerful force that can only be wielded by the Head of State.

He said that despite President Ruto maintaining a clammed-up silence, the manner in which the impeachment process has been conducted from the beginning points to his influence from the top echelons of the Executive.

“For the first time I saw Parliamentarians in their numbers animated, I have never seen them that animated in order to produce the long knives that they had been sharpening,” said Lumumba.

“The President’s silence has been deafening indeed. I think silence betokens consent. The silence is silence most eloquent. Those who work and are guided by me do what has been commanded quietly and the enthusiasm of the MPs, it is enthusiasm without precedent.”

Prof. Lumumba went on to attribute the timely issuing of the gazette notice about the impeachment and the rushed public participation exercise which he says had not been the norm for Parliamentarians, reiterating that all these cues point towards reaffirming the DP’s exit.

Likewise, according to Prof. Lumumba, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and his deputy Gladys Boss’ prior comments on the impeachment sealed Gachagua’s fate since the two were supposed to be coordinators of the Parliamentary exercise.

“It is the enthusiasm that you see when you see the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker outside of Parliament; those who preside have already made a decision so that when the Deputy President is taken to slaughter, it is almost a done deal," he said.

"And when you see the speed at which gazette notice is issued, the speed at which documents relating to public participation are prepared, in a country where we claim there is no money, when you see the availability of funds which are deployed, it tells you that this is something that is sealed at the very top and that the goose is cooked for the Deputy President.”

Gachagua was impeached on Tuesday night after 282 MPs voted in support of the impeachment motion; 44 legislators voted against the motion while one abstained.

The motion has since moved to the Senate, where it will undergo further consideration before a final vote is taken.

For the impeachment to be successful, it must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the members of both the National Assembly and the Senate, excluding nominated members.