Duale criticises motions to impeach Cabinet secretaries

What you need to know:

  • The Garissa Town MP dismissed an impeachment motion currently being championed by Kimilili MP Didimus Baraza to send national Treasure CS Henry Rotich home.

  • Mr Duale said the grounds for impeachment must be presented to the National Assembly clerk for approval.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has told members of Parliament to stop initiating populist motions to impeach Cabinet Secretaries without substantive grounds, as stipulated in the Constitution.

Mr Duale said most impeachment motions by MPs are only meant to excite the public but fail because the lawmakers do not follow the process to the end.

The Garissa Town MP dismissed an impeachment motion currently being championed by Kimilili MP Didimus Baraza to send national Treasure CS Henry Rotich home as a result of his authorisation for the entry of contraband sugar into the country, as well as of a Sh1.5 billion payment for land in Ruaraka.

OUT OF ORDER

Speaking on Thursday during the graduation ceremony of 387 MPs, research assistants, and personal assistants (PA) trained by Parliament, Mr Duale said the grounds for impeachment must be presented to the National Assembly clerk for approval.

“I have nothing personal against the MP, and I am not protecting anyone, but the lawmaker is out of order. For one to moot an impeachment motion, he or she must state the grounds and present them to the office of the clerk for consideration and approval,” Mr Duale said.

SIGNATURES

He further explained that once the motion is approved, the MP sponsoring it must leave it, with a blank sheet of paper attached to it, at the reception, where colleagues can read and sign it if they support it.

“Impeachment motions are not being prosecuted in the corridors of Parliament through press conferences. There is a process in law that must be followed,” Mr Duale said. But Mr Baraza said he will continue collecting signatures to send CS Rotich home.

“I am continuing with what I started, Duale should not tell me what to do,” he said. MPs have also threatened to impeach CSs Rashid Achesa (Sports), Sicily Karuiki (Health), Charles Keter (Energy), Keriako Tobiko (Environment).