Kindigi ni mtu wa kutumiwa kumaliza genz
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Weta Takes Charge As President With Ruto in Burundi
President William Ruto’s trip to Burundi on Thursday for the 23rd Heads of State and Government Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) raised important legal questions about who was in charge of the country during his absence.
This comes in the wake of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s ongoing impeachment court cases and the uncertainty surrounding the nomination of Kithure Kindiki for the position of second in command.
Gachagua was ousted from office on October 18 after the Senate voted to impeach him on five of 11 charges brought forth by Kibwezi West Member of Parliament Mwengi Mutuse. The decision followed a vote by the National Assembly who overwhelmingly voted to oust the embattled Deputy President.
With this in mind, it begs the question of who is in charge of the country in the absence of both a President and a Deputy President.
As Gachagua aims to exploit every legal loophole in court to salvage his political career, he is, by law, now contesting as a civilian following the Senate’s vote to remove him from office.
What the law says:
Article 146 of the Constitution tackles the question of the Vacancy of the Office of the President and his Deputy.
As per the Constitution, “When a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the Deputy President shall assume office as President for the remainder of the term of the President.”
“If the office of Deputy President is vacant, or the Deputy President is unable to assume the office of President, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall act as President and an election to the office of President.”
These provisions, however, pre-dominantly take effect when in the event that the President or his Deputy are both impeached, resign or pass away. There is no specific mention of what happens when the Head of State is out of the country.
If the constitution is anything to go by, Moses Wetangula is by law currently in charge of the country, at least for the next 36 hours, since the law says the Speaker of the National Assembly can act as President when the President and the Deputy President seat is declared vacant.
However, according to Javas Bigambo, a legal expert who spoke exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke, the county is at risk of a constitutional crisis with the current state of affairs.
“Rigathi Gachagua is factually impeached,” Bigambo explained, adding that the third in command in the absence of President Ruto and Gachagua is the Speaker of the National Assembly.
“But now since we do not have a functional IEBC, we are risking a constitutional crisis because the Speaker of the National Assembly can only be in charge of the country for three months if (God forbid) anything happens to the President,” he added.
“Because of the conservatory orders barring Kindiki from assuming office, he does not have the powers of a Deputy President. This leaves the affairs of the country to the third in command who is the Speaker of the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, Bigambo dismissed any provisions for the Prime Cabinet Secretary(PCS) Musalia Mudavadi to take over as the third in command, maintaining that there is no provision for his position(PCS) in the constitution.
This happens as the embattled Gachagua is set to know his fate on Thursday, when a three-judge bench comprising of Justices Antony Mrima, Eric Ogola and Freda Mugambi will decide on whether to remove or stay the conservatory orders blocking the swearing-in of nominated Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
On Nabii and Murima Politics…
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In a polygamous marriage the man will always be happy when the wives love each other!
It’s getting ugly between Nabii loyalists and Murima…
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DP Kindiki arrives at UDA Headquarters, replaces Rigathi Gachagua as UDA’s Deputy Party Leader
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Mathira Constituency residents on Wednesday, November 13, started collecting signatures to launch the process of removing their area Member of Parliament Eric Wamumbi for voting in favour of the recent impeachment motion against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The exercise kicked off in Karatina town, where residents came out carrying their identification cards to sign petitions to recall their MP.
This move comes in response to Wamumbi’s involvement in the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, which residents viewed as a betrayal to them.
The residents of Mathira, which is Gachagua’s backyard, showed dissatisfaction after the MP supported Gachagua’s impeachment, stating they were ready to proceed with the recall once the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is fully reconstituted.
Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi.
As the exercise wore on, the visibly angry residents pointed a finger of blame to their MP accusing him of denouncing one of their own and voting against their wish.
“As residents, we have resolved to start collecting signatures to recall Wamumbi because he has not initiated any meaningful development and betrayed our son, Gachagua, by leading the push for his impeachment, which we opposed,” one resident asserted.
Mathira constituency which supported for United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in 2022, has a little over 104,000 voters, the majority of whom backed the UDA party.
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It comes as MPs hailing from the Mt Kenya region have been met with backlash from their constituents following the impeachment of Gachagua.
The latest one to be shown wrath was Nyeri Town MP Duncan Maina was heckled and insulted at Lower Bus Park in Nyeri Town, by angry matatu operators on Monday, November 11.
Mathenge who had gone to show solidarity with matatu operators, who were being moved to a different terminus was met with hostility that did not match his expectations.
The MP was among the 244 Members of Parliament who voted yes in the National Assembly, effectively backing the motion to oust Gachagua as Kenya’s Deputy President.
Meanwhile, Gachagua, who was on Monday ejected as UDA’s deputy party leader, has since laid a low profile politically. The only occasional appearance is at Church services where he has been urging his supporters to maintain silence.
Senior Economic Advisor to President William Ruto, Moses Kuria, was on Saturday, November 23, heckled and chased away from a burial ceremony in Murang’a as the fallout of the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua continues in Mt Kenya.
Kuria was met by an irate congregation at the funeral service of Mark Gicheru, a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) who recently passed away.
A video seen by Kenyans.co.ke shows the mourners reacting angrily to Kuria as he spoke at the late MCA’s funeral at Wangu Kiharu.
To quell the rising tensions, the priest presiding over the service resorted to leading a worship hymn. Despite this, the angry congregants could still be heard voicing their fury.
Kuria was seen left in a state of confusion as the scenario unfolded, resulting in his speech being cut short. Consequently, Kuria had to leave the podium to avoid further beratement from the congregants.
In a sign of defiance to the government, the crowd further expressed their frustrations by heckling a representative of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki off the stage. The representative was set to read a speech from Kindiki.
The clergy, clearly under pressure to control the situation, advised the representative to hand the speech to the family of the deceased MCA so as to manage affairs.
Over the past few months, the political landscape in Mt. Kenya has pointed to a region in limbo after the impeachment of former DP Rigathi Gachagua. During that period Kuria was vocal about Gachagua, voicing his criticism of the former second in command.
The government advisor faulted Gachagua for orchestrating a retrogressive narrative intended to alienate the Mt Kenya region from the rest of the country.
Kuria emphasized that the Mt Kenya region, despite being populous, could not succeed independently without the input of other regions particularly because Mt Kenya residents are mainly traders and thus heavily depend on the rest of Kenyans to purchase their products.
After his impeachment, Gachagua proceeded to take a humble tone but recently came out with a scathing attack on the government. On Wednesday, November 20, he took to social media to reveal details of alleged surveillance and intimidation by security agents in unmarked cars.
Gachagua went further to relate this alleged intimidation as similar to the one perpetrated during the Moi regime.
