“I Thought I’ll Save Gachagua’s Impeachment” Ndindi Nyoro On Why He Skipped Parliament

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has explained why he stayed away from the parliamentary proceedings that led to the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in 2024.

Speaking to journalists in Chuka on Saturday, October 3, Nyoro said he believed refusing to participate would deny the impeachment motion the two-thirds majority required for it to pass.

Nyoro said his understanding was that the best way to defeat the motion was to keep away from the proceedings rather than vote against it.

“There is a reason you have never heard Honourable Rigathi Gachagua complaining,” Nyoro said, arguing that impeachment depended on securing the required numbers.

He said failure to attain the constitutional threshold would have caused the motion to collapse.

“Where you find that if you deny, whether it is a county assembly, something called a two-thirds majority, that motion falls or collapses. That is what I thought was the best strategy,” he added.

At the time, Nyoro was the chairperson of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee. He did not sign the impeachment motion against Gachagua and also stayed away from the debate and voting.

The motion, sponsored by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, cited 11 grounds, including alleged gross violations of the Constitution, abuse of office and undermining the President.

On October 8, 2024, the National Assembly approved the motion after 282 MPs voted in support of Gachagua’s removal. The Senate later upheld the impeachment on October 17, 2024, ending Gachagua’s tenure as Deputy President.

Nyoro said his decision was based on his belief that denying the motion the required numbers would stop the impeachment.

His explanation comes against the backdrop of his previous remarks in which he had cited personal conviction and conscience for his decision not to take part in the process.

During the same engagement, Nyoro also defended his position on the Finance Bill 2024, acknowledging that he supported the legislation while serving in the Kenya Kwanza administration.

He said he had raised his concerns through internal government and parliamentary processes but later opposed the subsequent Finance Bill.

“The Finance Bill of this year, I did not support it at all,” Nyoro said.

https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/ndindi-nyoro-reveals-why-he-thought-skipping-session-would-defeat-gachagua-impeachment-process

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