Kenyans will for the first time get a rare opportunity on Friday to decide the fate of embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The notice of motion to have Gachagua impeached was tabled Tuesday by Kibwezi West MP Mutuse Mwengi.
A total of 291 MPs appended their signatures in support of the motion.
In a ruling, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said public participation will be conducted across the country.
The process will be undertaken across the 290 constituencies coordinated from 47 specific locations in each of the counties.
The exercise, according to the notice issued by National Assembly clerk Samuel Njoroge, will be conducted from 8 am to 5 pm.
It will be spearheaded by officers from Parliament’s secretariat.
In calling for the public hearings, Wetang’ula took note of previous court rulings.
This is to avoid a situation where a decision taken may come back to haunt the House as has been witnessed in impeachment proceedings of governors and their deputies.
“At the very outset, permit me to note that it would be absurd for any person to imagine that a motion such as the one presently before the House may be concluded without participation of the public,” Wetang’ula directed.
“I am indeed persuaded that public participation is an integral element of the process of removal of an elected state officer from office.”
During the day, the attendees will provide their views to the team assigned to the particular collection center.
This will be recorded before a report to be tabled in parliament is compiled.
The officials who will preside over the event will take the attendees through the impeachment process by reading out the charges stating the grounds for removal and the particulars before they give them time to give their opinions.
Kenyans who will not be physically present at the venues have an option of filling special forms developed by the National Assembly.
The forms which are accessible online are printed in both English and Kiswahili languages.
It contains each of the 11 charges that Gachagua is accused of.
They are supposed to fill in their names, gender, constituency, county, and identification number (ID).
They are also expected to state by ticking whether they support or do not support the motion or give reasons.
In each of the stated charges, a box where an applicant ticks whether they support or not has been provided.
The forms are also to be signed.
“Filled templates may be delivered to a venue/collection centre indicated in the schedule of public hearings on October 4, 2024, or forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly, P.O. Box 41842-00100, Nairobi; hand-delivered to the office of the Clerk, main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi; or emailed to [email protected] to be received on or before Saturday, October 5, 2024, at 5 pm,” reads the notice.
