Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is a man under siege, with government-leaning MPs appearing to have abandoned him in his hour of need.
On Thursday, the impeachment motion against the embattled minister sailed through with relative ease, casting doubts on the Kenya Kwanza Alliance’s much-vaunted “tyranny of numbers” in the National Assembly.
President Ruto’s lieutenants faced a humiliating defeat on the floor of the House as their quest to raise preliminary objections on technical grounds to forestall the process fell flat on its face.
Mr Linturi’s impeachment motion, sponsored by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka, was approved 149 to 36, which paves the way for the select committee to investigate the three allegations against the CS and report its findings to the House within 10 days.
149 MPs approve motion to dismiss CS Linturi
The fate of Mr Linturi now lies in the hands of the lawmakers as he inches closer to becoming the first CS under the 2010 Constitution to be impeached.
According to Article 152 of the Constitution, if the allegations are unsubstantiated, no further action shall be taken. But if substantiated, Mr Linturi will be given an opportunity to defend himself and the House will vote to either approve or reject the resolution. If the House votes to approve the resolution of the committee, the Speaker shall deliver the resolution of the House to the President who shall dismiss the CS. Another minister is also said to be on the radar of MPs and could also be impeached soon.
Nation understands a series of late night meetings were held on Wednesday to defeat the motion ahead of the debate on Thursday. The CS is reported to have reached out to some MPs, especially those who had appended their signatures to the motion. The meetings are said to have taken place in various hotels in Upper Hill and Karen in Nairobi.
“The CS reached out but it was too late. We defended our decision to append our signatures because this is a very emotive matter and the farmers want justice,” an MP from northern Kenya said.
Nation has also reliably learnt that President Ruto kept off the matter, leaving his troops to make their own decisions.
By Wednesday evening, MPs from the ruling coalition had not been given any direction on the matter, which emboldened them to vote for the motion. There was also no serious lobbying from the Kenya Kwanza leadership to protect Mr Linturi.
Sources told Nation that the Kenya Kwanza leadership wouldn’t have allowed the motion to get to the floor of the House had it been serious about saving Mr Linturi.
Opposition lawmakers allied to the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party yesterday accused Mr Linturi of failing maize farmers in the Rift Valley, coffee and tea growers in Central and the miraa producers in Meru.
The strategy was to whip up the emotions of MPs from the government side by claiming that voters in their own backyards were the most affected by Mr Linturi’s actions.
Sabina Chege: CS Linturi is not responsible for fake fertiliser scam
MPs from the government side who defended Mr Linturi said he was not the ministry’s accounting officer and should not shoulder blame for the scandal. They further pointed out that, since the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee were already investigating the matter, they should be allowed to conclude the process and table a formal report that the House can use to make a decision.
They argued it would be premature to make a decision against the CS if investigations had not been completed. They added that the matter was in court and it would amount to sub judice for the House to act on it.
They further pointed out that the State Corporation Act bars CSs from interfering with semi-autonomous government agencies, hence Mr Linturi cannot be held accountable if the National Cereal Produce Board was found selling fake fertiliser to farmers. From the onset of the debate, it was clear that the majority side wanted Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to dismiss the motion on technicalities.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) termed the motion a political gimmick that was meant to derail the probe.
“Mr Wamboka is calling on this House to make a political decision without evidence. There is completely no nexus between the allegations and the person he seeks to remove from office,” Mr Ichung’wah said.
Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya (Kilifi North) called on the Speaker to dismiss the motion on technicalities, saying, the mover relied on information from media sources, something that contravened House rules.
Mr Baya further pointed out that some of the cases mentioned in the motion were dealt with during the vetting of the CS and the House had made a decision, meaning they couldn’t be re-introduced unless with the express permission of the Speaker.
Tharaka MP George Murugara also raised the sub judice issue, saying it would be premature for the House to make a decision.
Drama as MPs chant 'Linturi must go' amid impeachment debate
But Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo countered that the Agriculture Committee is subordinate to the House and that the Speaker had already admitted the evidence as presented by Mr Wamboka.
“What we are dealing with is more than criminal culpability. If we cannot speak for [the farmers], who will?” Dr Amollo posed.
Opposition MPs pegged their arguments on four issues — food security, that the impeachment was a moral duty rather than a political issue, that a select committee was more powerful than the agriculture committee and that the CS has embarrassed President Ruto.
Mr Wandayi told Nation the vote against Mr Linturi should send a strong warning to President Ruto that people are tired of corruption in government.
“The vote was bipartisan. It is an indication that the House is tired of corruption in this government. Of course there was lobbying to save the CS but members voted with their conscience,” Mr Wandayi said.
While making his case for the removal of the CS, Mr Wamboka said the move was a moral obligation owed to farmers as he urged MPs from the Azimio side not to look at it politically.
“This is ... not about being whipped; it’s about standing with the people whose only mistake was to trust a government agency. I don’t understand why anybody would stand with such a minister,” Mr Wamboka said.
“This is neither a UDA [United Democratic Alliance] nor an Azimio motion. It’s not for the people of Meru but for the people of Kenya. This is a motion that seeks to help Kenyan farmers who are not going to harvest because of bad fertiliser,” he added.
Mr Wamboka said that, despite the President having a good intention of ensuring food security, he was being sabotaged by the CS. Mr Wandayi urged his colleagues to detach themselves from their political affiliations and put the interests of the country first.
“This is ... about the very survival of this country. Countries that are food deficient are prone to coups ... anybody interfering with food security is tempting us to go down that route because you cannot govern a hungry nation,” Mr Wandayi said.
“Let us just send this CS home regardless of our political affiliations, it will earn this House the respect it deserves,” he added.
If investigative agencies were still conducting their investigations, he posed, why was the NCPB ready to compensate farmers despite the House having not appropriated such funds?
Deputy Minority Leader Robert Mbui (Kathiani) said farmers were glued to their television sets to see whether their representatives would speak for them.
Opiyo Wandayi: CS Linturi cannot feign ignorance over supply of fake fertiliser to Kenyans
“Farmers are watching us. This should be the day that Kenyans should benefit from the powers they gave us as their representative,” said Mr Mbui.
Nominated MP John Mbadi said that the only way to know the truth about the allegations levelled against Mr Linturi was by approving the impeachment motion to allow for the formation of a select committee that would scrutinise the evidence and report their findings to the House.
“Stopping this matter at this stage would deny the House an opportunity to know the truth. The select committee will have an opportunity to scrutinise the evidence and table a report before us. If the committee finds that the matters are not substantiated, then the CS will be exonerated. But if substantiated, the House will take another vote after the CS has been given an opportunity [to defend himself],” Mr Mbadi said.
The select committee is set to begin its work next week and, since the House proceeded for a one-month recess yesterday, a special sitting will be convened to discuss its report.
