The Process of Impeaching Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
There is a push for the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua which has been fueled by a combination of political tensions and other allegations against him such as promoting ethnically divisive politics.
The previous constitution allowed the President to unilaterally dismiss the Deputy President, which was seen as a tool for political manipulation. The 2010 Constitution introduced a more balanced distribution of power within the Executive Branch. It established specific grounds and procedures for impeachment, which requires parliamentary involvement, thereby safeguarding against arbitrary actions based on political disagreements.
To impeach the Deputy President of Kenya, the legal framework is primarily established in the Kenyan Constitution, specifically Articles 144, 145 and 150. The impeachment process can be initiated on two grounds. Gross misconduct and Physical/Mental incapacity.
For Gross Misconduct, a Member of the National Assembly may propose an impeachment motion if at least one third of the members support it. The grounds for this motion include:
- A gross violation of the Constitution or any other law
- Serious reasons to believe that the Deputy President has committed a crime under Kenyan or International Law.
- General Gross Misconduct.
For Physical or Mental incapacity, a motion can also be initiated to investigate the Deputy President’s capacity to perform their duties. For this, at least a quarter of the Members of the National Assembly must support the motion. The process involves:
- Notification of the Chief Justice if a majority supports the investigation.
- Appointment of a tribunal by the Chief Justice to assess the Deputy President’s capacity.
The actual process of impeaching the Deputy President is as follows.
- Initiation of Impeachment: A Member of the National Assembly, supported by at least a third of all the Members, must submit a written notice of Motion to Impeach the Deputy President to the Speaker of the National Assembly.
- Consideration by the National Assembly: If the motion meets the requirements, the Speaker shall allow a discussion of the motion within three days of receiving it.
- Voting in the National Assembly: After debate, if at least two thirds of all the Members of the National Assembly vote to support the motion, the Speaker shall inform the Speaker of the Senate within two days.
- Senate Investigation: The Senate will then form a special committee of eleven of its members to investigate the matter. This committee has seven days to report back to the Senate.
- Deputy President’s Right to Appear: During the investigation, the Deputy President has the right to appear and be represented before the special committee.
- Senate Consideration: The Senate then considers the special committee’s report and votes on the impeachment charges.
- Final Vote: If at least two thirds of all the members of the Senate vote to uphold any impeachment charge, the Deputy President ceases to hold office.
If the process of impeaching the Deputy President is successful, several Constitutional processes will be triggered to address the vacancy. There will be no by-election because the Deputy President is not directly elected by the people but is elected as part of a joint ticket with the President.
The process for filling the vacant position of the Deputy President is outlined in Article 149 of the Constitution.
- The President is required to nominate a new Deputy President within 14 days of the vacancy being announced.
- The National Assembly must vet and approve the nominee. For the nomination to be confirmed, it must receive a majority vote from the Members of Parliament. This must happen within 60 days.
- Once the National Assembly approves the nominee, the new Deputy President must take the oath of office to make things official. They will serve for the remainder of the President’s term.
