• Environment CS Aden Duale attributed Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment to his tendency to create enemies rather than alliances
• Duale highlighted Gachagua’s confrontational approach, which led to an unprecedented 282 MPs voting for his removal
• The CS contrasted Gachagua’s ouster with the 2009 impeachment attempt on President William Ruto, which failed due to Ruto’s strong network of allies
• Duale recalled Ruto’s two-hour speech that turned the 2009 impeachment motion into a vote of confidence, securing him the support of 115 MPs

Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi – Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has offered insight into the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

The seasoned politician attributed Gachagua’s historic ouster to a habit of building enmity rather than alliances in the political arena.

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During an appearance on JKlive on Wednesday, October 30, Duale recalled past impeachment efforts he had observed in his long political career, suggesting that Gachagua’s downfall was fueled by his confrontational approach.

According to Duale, Gachagua has frequently turnedpotential political allies into adversaries, culminating in an unprecedented impeachment vote that saw 282 MPs vote in favour of the motion.

“The impeached DP invested more in fighting people from his backyard and everywhere including fighting small people like Dennis Itumbi and Farouk Kibet. When you are big you don’t come to ground zero, you stay up.

He invested more in creating enemies than friends. That is why you saw it has never happened in the history of the Kenyan legislature for 282 members to vote in favour of a motion,” Duale noted.

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The Cabinet Secretary also compared Gachagua’s impeachment to the attempt to remove President William Ruto as Agriculture Minister in 2009.

He pointed out that despite a push by MPs, including Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua and other ministers, Ruto’s impeachment failed because he had cultivated a network of allies over his political career.

Duale recalled Ruto’s impassioned speech during the 2009 debate, a speech that he claimed helped convert the impeachment attempt into a vote of confidence.

“The current president had an impeachment motion tabled against him when he was the Minister of Agriculture, but his impeachment turned into a vote of confidence. He spoke for two hours, and 115 MPs supported him. I was one of them, but 26 voted to impeach him of which 18 were ministers. People like Martha Karua wanted Ruto out. Why did he survive that impeachment? Because this man invested in friends from his early time in politics,” he explained.

Source: TUKO.co.ke