DP Ruto's impeachment matter of national interest, says Mudavadi party

Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC party now says that the impeachment of Deputy President William Ruto is a matter of national interest despite assertions that it lacks the requisite numbers in Parliament to have such an idea go through.

Despite ODM saying that it will not back the motion, on Wednesday, Mr Mudavadi’s spokesman, Mr Kibisu Kabatesi, said that DP Ruto should either resign or be impeached for ''openly revolting against his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta''.

“In the scheme of things, if the Deputy President strongly disagrees with his boss, the President, it is only honourable that he calls it a day. The strength of an idea whose time has come is stronger than hordes of money-pickers that define the Tangatanga lineup,” Mr Kabatesi said.

“The continued stay by deceit, conniving, undermining, inciting the public and scandalising a government by a second in command is treasonable sabotage, with collateral damage on stability of the country,” he says.

However, Mr Kabatesi clarified that the impeachment is not about William Ruto as a person but the mischief that threatens national interest.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula, who spoke to the Nation on phone, said that the ANC has already instructed a team of “top” legal minds in the country to draft the impeachment articles.

“We are not planning to do this in defence of President Kenyatta but the institution of the Presidency. The Presidency must be respected,” Mr Savula said.

He said that all the required evidence will be attached to the petition as directed by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi in 2015.

DP Ruto is on record for openly dismissing the March 2018 “handshake” between President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga that brought to an end the bad blood among their supporters after the August 8, 2017 General Election.

The DP has also gone against his boss over the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a product of the “handshake”, that seeks to amend the 2010 constitution through a referendum.

The DP has also been blamed for his “dynasty versus hustlers” messaging across the country that his accusers say has the danger of sliding the country into civil war.

According to Mr Kabatesi, DP Ruto’s campaign messaging has the danger of causing insurrection similar to the one engineered by former US President Donald Trump as he protested Mr Joe Biden’s win in the November 2020 presidential elections.

“Unlike in the US where insurrection is limited to intimidations, the instability wrought by DP Ruto insurrection will lead to the dismemberment of the country,” Mr Mudavadi’s spokesman says.

But even as ANC says it will push on with the impeachment charges, the DP and the Tangatanga politicians supporting his bid to succeed President Kenyatta in 2022 say that Mr Mudavadi’s party lacks the requisite numbers to push through such an agenda in Parliament.

“They must be some idle individuals trying to chase the wind. If they are men enough, let them bring the motion so that we deal with it. They have been scaring us too much,” Belgut MP Nelson Koech said.

But Mr Kabatesi dismissed Mr Koech’s assertion as a fake Tangatanga bravado “that is bound to disappear into the thin atmosphere when rubber meets the road.”

“Let those deluding themselves that ANC cannot produce numbers in Parliament continue to deceive themselves. The capacity to see the motion through Parliament is not just a question of numbers that Tangatanga would like Kenyans to believe,” says Mr Mudavadi's spokesman.

According to Mr Kabatesi, revolutions and change have not been made by the “madding” crowd, “but by the strengths of commitment and belief by a few vanguards.”

“Jesus did not have a mob with him when he spread the gospel that has captured and drives millions of faithful throughout the world for centuries now.”

While the Constitution has no specific provision for the process to impeach the holder of the office, Article 150 (1) (b) of the constitution provides that the Deputy President can be impeached on grounds of gross violation of the constitution, crime under national law and gross misconduct.

However, Article 150 (2) provides that Articles 144 and 145 relating to the removal of the President shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the removal of the Deputy President.

Article 145 gives the National Assembly the power to initiate the removal process through impeachment.

Accordingly, any MP who seeks to have the DP removed from office must get the support of one-third or 117 of the 349 MPs in the National Assembly before bringing such a motion to the floor of the House.

To bring such a motion, the promoters of the DP Ruto impeachment will be required to abide by the tough rules set by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi in 2015.

The Speaker’s rules communicated to the House protect State officers, among them the President and his deputy, against frivolous impeachment motions.

Speaker Muturi directed that all special motions brought to the House under Articles 145, 150, 152 (6) and 251 of the constitution must comply with the thresholds established by courts of law as to what constitutes gross violation of the constitution, gross misconduct or abuse of office.

He also said that allegations against the State officers must be accompanied by evidence, including annexures and sworn testimonies, a move that has made it difficult for MPs to impeach a CS.

Speaker Muturi also ruled that potential petitioners must first identify the grounds that must be fully backed with evidence, including annexures and sworn testimonies, for his determination.

The new rules have already made it difficult for MPs to remove Cabinet Secretaries from office.

Upon determination that the grounds are valid, the petitioner is then allowed to go ahead and collect signatures that must be backed by at least one-third of the MPs in the House.

If the motion is supported by two-thirds (233 MPs), the Speaker of the National Assembly will then forward the resolution to the Senate within two days.

However, the Deputy President will continue to perform the functions of the office pending the outcome of the proceedings in the Senate.

Upon receiving the resolution, the Speaker of the Senate must convene the House within seven days to hear the charges.

The Senate may either appoint an 11-member special committee to investigate the allegations, or convert itself into a committee and conduct a trial.