Kenya: Impeachment Processes Are Political, Should Be Subjected to Investigations – Dullo
Nairobi — Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo says the impeachment process of governors and their deputies are all political insisting there should be more scrutiny should be done on the process.
While citing the removal of Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and his Kiambu counterpart Ferdinand Waititu, Dullo emphasized that the final vote on the impeachment procedure is largely political and hence it can’t be the yardstick to kill one’s political career.
“Having sat in this house I can confirm that all the impeachments that have come to the floor of this house, it’s all political,” she stated.
“We have only carried two impeachments, the one on Waititu of Kiambu was carried and it was political then. The second one was Nairobi Governor which was equally political,” said the Isiolo Senator.
Dullo who opposed the removal of Oduol from office said it would be unfair for one’s political career to be killed on political grounds without being subjected to a thorough investigation by the relevant agencies.
She opined that the Senate Adhoc committee ought to have subjected the allegations through an audit to substantiate the facts on the matter.
“I don’t see the reason why a career of somebody who has built his career for the last thirty years be killed because of those two allegations against him. The best that this assembly could have done is to subject the matter to audit and the EACC for investigation,” Dullo said.
In 2020, the Majority of the Senators voted overwhelmingly in favor of all four charges brought against Sonko which include Gross Violation of the Constitution, Abuse of Office, Misconduct and Crimes against National Law, effectively ending Sonko’s reign after staying in office for three years.
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The vote was largely characterized by the country’s politics, dividing Senators along the Kieleweke and Tanga Tanga brigades leaning towards President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Leader Raila Odinga on one hand and Deputy President William Ruto on the other.
In the same year political differences affiliated to the Tanga Tanga and Kieleweke-fuelled lately by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) sent Waititu home.
The majority of the Senators voted for the motion seeking to validate his impeachment by the Kiambu County Assembly, despite concerns on whether it met the legal threshold from a section of legislators.
Waititu faced three charges among them gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office and crime under the national law.
