Mt Kenya MPs blame Ruto for Gachagua's impeachment

On a day that a motion to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was tabled, leaders from the Mt Kenya region came out in his defence.

A section of legislators from Muranga County have accused President William Ruto of being behind Gachagua's impeachment.

MPs Edward Muriu (Gatanga), Mary Maua (Maragua), Peter Kihungi (Kangema), Joseph Munyoro (Kigumo), Chege Njuguna (Kandara) and Senator Joe Nyutu opined that the only way the ouster motion made its way to Parliament was with the blessing of President Ruto.

Questioning why the Head of State had not halted the motion, they termed it a political war meant to weaken Gachagua's influence ahead of the 2027 elections.

"We know without the blessings of Ruto this would have not happened. They should know that divorcing Gachagua is divorcing the mountain. We believe that they (Ruto and Gachagua) should embrace dialogue and sort out their differences," said Nyutu.

"Ruto has the ability to stop this motion. Even with Parliament being independent, MPs will listen to him," he added.

At the same time, Wiper Democratic Movement Party yesterday expressed its opposition to the impeachment motion.

In a statement, Wiper clarified that the mover of the motion, Mwengi Mutuse, was not their member and that he belonged to the Maendeleo Chap Chap party - a constituent party of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.

"This distinction is important in understanding the political alignments and affiliations in Kenya. We would also want to reiterate that Wiper Democratic Movement Party opposes the proposed impeachment motion against the Deputy President," it read.

Maragua MP Mary Wamaua termed the ouster motion as unfortunate stating that the backers of were fighting personal wars with a man whose only crime was advocating for unity.

"If the Deputy President is being hanged through the impeachment motion for advocating for the unity of the mountain, one day history will fight for itself. We know they fear when the mountain is united," she stated.

Nyutu further claimed that the entry of Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga into the Kwanza Kwanza fray is what precipitated Gachagua's ouster.

"If they vote to impeach the Deputy President, then ODM will not convince anyone that they were not brought into government to kick out Gachagua. We believe the broad-based government was meant to sideline Gachagua which is very unfortunate," Nyutu said.

He warned that should the ouster motion sail through, it would forever taint the relationship between Ruto and the Mt Kenya region which will would be reflected in the 2027 elections.

The leaders also noted that during Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta's feud, it never got to settling scores through impeachment.

"We can't see anything that the Deputy President has done that's irreconcilable. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta never through the MPs initiated such proceedings against Ruto," he said.

The leaders further claimed that all the issues that had been presented through the motion could have been addressed internally through the laid down UDA dispute resolution mechanisms.

"Proceeding with this motion will amount to the DP being condemned unheard. It's on that basis that we are seeking and beseeching our fellow MPs to give dispute resolution mechanism a chance," said Kigumo MP Joseph Kamau.