Why CORD wants President Uhuru Kenyatta impeached

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) has threatened to table an ouster motion against President Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the process of the removal of a sitting Head of State can only be initiated by the National Assembly then goes to the Senate for consideration and determination on whether the grounds raised are sufficient to remove them.

The ouster motion by Suba Member of Parliament John Mbadi seeks to remove President Uhuru Kenyatta from office for allegedly acting in gross violation of the express and unambiguous provision of the Constitution.

Mbadi argues that the President has been acting in blatant contempt of the courts of the Republic of Kenya as established by the law.

The Suba MP cites Article 131 (2) of the Constitution saying that it requires the President, to amongst others, ensure protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.

Chapter Ten of the Constitution establishes the Judiciary as an independent organ of the State and vests upon it the mandate to adjudicate over all disputes, something Mbadi argues the President has consistently ignored.

“On 2^nd April, 2015, in the wake of the Garissa attack, the President directed that 10,000 police recruits to report immediately to the Police Training College in Kiganjo despite a court order in force stopping the enrollment on grounds that the recruitment was tainted with corruption, irregularities and blatant violations of the Constitution,” read the motion seen by Citizen TV in part.

Mbadi further cites the President’s move to order and supervise the destruction of a ship in Mombasa suspected to be ferrying drugs despite there being a court order temporarily stopping the destruction as gross violation of the Constitution.

He goes ahead to accuse President Kenyatta of deliberately trying to frustrate the ruling of the Labour Relations and Employment Court awarding teachers a 50 – 60% pay rise by failing to implement it.

Failure to secure and safeguard Kenyans

Mbadi wants the President removed from office for allegedly rubbishing the rule of law and showing open defiance to the courts.

The second ground that the Suba MP has raised for the impeachment of the President is after he allegedly failed to secure and safeguard the people of Kenya.

According to the Constitution of Kenya Article 131 (1) (c), the President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the republic of Kenya and therefore required to secure Kenyan borders and protect the lives of all Kenyans against any external aggression.

Mbadi accuses the President of being in violation of this duty, absconding his duty of protecting Kenyans leading to the death of 148 people, majority of them students, during the Garissa University College attack and the death of another 67 people in the Westgate Shopping Mall attack among others.

He argues that the President has failed to address the security lapses in the country thereby exposing the citizenry to more attacks such as the Mpeketoni terror attack.

On the third count of impeachment, Mbadi accuses the Head of State of assenting to laws that are unconstitutional.

“On Friday, December 19^th, 2014, President Kenyatta signed into law the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014 that was passed during the chaotic special sitting of the National Assembly,” reads the draft motion in part.

The High Court on February 23^rd, 2015 ruled that several sections of the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014 were unconstitutional.

“The act of signing unconstitutional bills into laws is not a onetime affair but has been trendy with the President. It would, therefore, be right to conclude that the President and his advisors are either incompetent or the President is blatantly ignoring expert legal advice from his advisors,” argues Mbadi in the motion.

Abetting and aiding corruption

The fourth impeachment count the MP is raising against the President is on alleged interfering with the independence of commissions and independent offices.

He argues that the President has interfered with the operations of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) by allegedly trying to influence the decisions of these independent bodies for instance the retiring of Grace Kaindi from the police service and subsequently replacing her with Mr. Joel Kitili.

Mbadi also argues that President Kenyatta has been aiding and abetting corruption in the public service and goes ahead to list the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal in which close to Ksh 1 billion was lost, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Eurobond that has cost over Ksh 200 billion and the unfettered grabbing of public land by state officers.

He further accuses the President of discriminating against Cabinet Members in the fight against corruption.

Mbadi wants the above grounds used to impeach the President. The question is: will the motion make it through the first step once it lands in the National Assembly?

On several occasions, the Jubilee Alliance has used its numerical strength to pass or shoot down a motion in both the National Assembly and in the Senate.